Evaluating The Prevalence And Nature Of Self-Employment In The Informal Economy: Evidence From A 27-Nation European Survey, Colin C. Williams, Jan Windebank, Sara Nadin
Jan 2012
Evaluating The Prevalence And Nature Of Self-Employment In The Informal Economy: Evidence From A 27-Nation European Survey, Colin C. Williams, Jan Windebank, Sara Nadin
Colin C Williams
Despite the emergent recognition that many in the informal economy work on a self-employed basis, few have evaluated the extent and character of such endeavour. To start to fill this gap, a 2007 Eurobarometer survey composed of 26,659 face-to-face interviews in 27 European countries is reported. This reveals that 1 in 28 of the surveyed population participated in self-employment in the informal economy over the previous year, albeit with some significant socio-economic and spatial variations in the commonality and character of participation, and their reasons for doing so. The paper concludes by reviewing the implications for future research and policy.
Evaluating The Variations In Undeclared Work In The Eu28, Colin C. Williams
Dec 2011
Evaluating The Variations In Undeclared Work In The Eu28, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
Drawing upon the results of 26,659 face-to-face interviews in the 27 member states of the
European Union (EU-27), the aim of this paper is to evaluate its varying magnitude and
whether such work is mostly wage-based (of an envelope wage or undeclared variety) or
own-account work (of a market-oriented or solidarity-oriented variety). The finding is
that in ‘welfare capitalist’ work and welfare regimes, which are more equal (measured by
the gini coefficient) pursue more extensive labour market interventions, have higher
levels of social protection and greater state redistribution, undeclared economies are
smaller and are composed mostly of solidarity-oriented own-account work. …
Explaining The Persistence Of The Informal Economy In Central And Eastern Europe: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams
Dec 2011
Explaining The Persistence Of The Informal Economy In Central And Eastern Europe: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
To evaluate critically the competing explanations for the persistence of the informal economy that variously represent this sphere as a residue, by-product, alternative and/or complement to the formal economy, this paper reports a survey of livelihood practices in 313 Moscow households. The finding is that the majority of households primarily depend on informal work to secure their livelihood and that although each and every theorisation is wholly valid with regard to particular types of informal work and/or specific population groups, no one articulation fully captures the diverse nature and multiple meanings of the informal economy in contemporary Moscow. The paper …
Theorizing The Self-Service Economy: A Case Study Of Do-It-Yourself (Diy) Activity, Colin C. Williams
Dec 2011
Theorizing The Self-Service Economy: A Case Study Of Do-It-Yourself (Diy) Activity, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
Recently, it has become increasingly recognised that self-servicing is a growing rather than declining phenomenon. To explain this, a range of competing theories have emerged which variously portray those engaged in self-servicing either as rational economic actors, dupes, seekers of self-identity, or simply doing so out of necessity or choice. This paper evaluates critically the validity of these rival explanations. To do this, the extent of, and reasons for, self-servicing in the domestic realm is empirically evaluated through an internet survey of 5,500 people living in the city of Sheffield in England. This resulted in 418 valid responses (a 7.6 …
Blurring The Formal/Informal Economy Divide: Beyond A Dual Economies Approach, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Dec 2011
Blurring The Formal/Informal Economy Divide: Beyond A Dual Economies Approach, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Colin C Williams
The need to integrate work beyond employment into discussions of labor practices is widely recognized. This has been so far largely achieved by adopting a dual economies perspective, which is criticized for depicting the formal and informal sectors as separate hostile worlds. To resolve this, an alternative “total social organization of labor” approach is here proposed that maintains the terms formal and informal as useful broad descriptors of different work relations, but recognizes a spectrum from purely formal to purely informal labor practices cross-cut by another spectrum from wholly monetized to wholly non-monetized labor practices. Reporting evidence from 861 face-to-face …
Enabling Enterprise: Tackling The Barriers To Formalisation, Colin C. Williams
Dec 2011
Enabling Enterprise: Tackling The Barriers To Formalisation, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
No abstract provided.
Evaluating The Persistence Of Subsistence Work In Contemporary Economies: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers
Dec 2011
Evaluating The Persistence Of Subsistence Work In Contemporary Economies: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers
Colin C Williams
Purpose – Contrary to the view that the subsistence economy is some minor residue persisting in
only a few peripheral enclaves of modern economies, the purpose of this paper is to begin to chart the
importance and prevalence of subsistence work across the contemporary economic landscape and the
reasons underpinning engagement in this form of non-commodified labour.
Design/methodology/approach – To do so, the extent of, and reasons for, subsistence production
amongst those living in contemporary Moscow is evaluated using face-to-face interviews with
313 households in affluent, mixed and deprived districts.
Findings – It was found that subsistence work is a …
From Market Hegemony To Diverse Economies: Evaluating The Plurality Of Labour Practices In Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers
Dec 2011
From Market Hegemony To Diverse Economies: Evaluating The Plurality Of Labour Practices In Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Peter Rodgers
Colin C Williams
Drawing inspiration from a burgeoning corpus of scholars who have begun to question
the narrative of impending market hegemony, this paper seeks to further advance this
emergent ‘diverse economies’ literature by constructing a conceptual framework for
representing the multiple labour practices in economies. Transcending the simplistic
market/non-market dichotomy, this conceptualises multiple kinds of labour existing along
a spectrum from market-oriented to non-market oriented practices, which is cross-cut by
another spectrum ranging from wholly monetised to wholly non-monetised practices. The
resultant portrayal of a plurality of labour practices that seamlessly merge into each other
is then applied to understanding the types …
Jde 2012 Ghana Motives.Pdf, Colin C. Williams
Dec 2011
Jde 2012 Ghana Motives.Pdf, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
In recent years, there has been growing recognition in the entrepreneurship literature that many
entrepreneurs operate in the informal economy and that not all these informal entrepreneurs are doing
so out of economic necessity and because of a lack of choice. Instead, it has been asserted that some of
these informal entrepreneurs choose to exit the formal economy and trade on an off-the-books basis
more as a matter of choice. However, until now most research displaying this has been conducted in
advanced western and post-socialist economies. Little has been written on whether this is also the case
in third (majority) …
Rethinking The Nature Of Community Economies: Some Lessons From Post-Soviet Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin, Peter Rodgers
Dec 2011
Rethinking The Nature Of Community Economies: Some Lessons From Post-Soviet Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin, Peter Rodgers
Colin C Williams
This paper contributes to a small but growing body of thought that
has questioned the hegemony of capitalism by revealing the
persistence of multifarious economic practices in everyday community
economies. To further advance this school of thought, first, a
conceptual framework is developed to map the diverse economic
practices used by communities and second, this is applied through a
survey of 600 households in Ukraine. The outcome is to reveal that
just as multifarious economic practices prevailed under state
socialism, the same applies in societies in transition to capitalism,
suggesting that there are alternative futures for community economies
beyond market …
Evaluating Competing Theories Of Informal Entrepreneurship: Some Lessons From Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin, Peter Rodgers
Dec 2011
Evaluating Competing Theories Of Informal Entrepreneurship: Some Lessons From Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin, Peter Rodgers
Colin C Williams
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate critically the competing theories of informal
entrepreneurship that variously represent such endeavour as a residue from a previous mode of
accumulation (modernisation theory), a direct by-product of contemporary capitalism and survival
strategy for those marginalised from the circuits of the modern economy (structuralism), an endeavour
voluntarily pursued due to over-regulation in the formal economy (neo-liberalism) or a practice chosen
for social, redistributive, political or identity reasons (post-structuralism).
Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate these competing theories, a 2005/2006 survey
involving face-to-face interviews with 298 informal entrepreneurs in Ukraine is analysed.
Findings – …
From Market Hegemony To Diverse Economies: Evaluating The Plurality Of Labour Practices In Ukraine, Colin C. Williams
Dec 2011
From Market Hegemony To Diverse Economies: Evaluating The Plurality Of Labour Practices In Ukraine, Colin C. Williams
Colin C Williams
Drawing inspiration from a burgeoning corpus of scholars who have begun to question the narrative of impending market hegemony, this paper seeks to further advance this emergent ‘diverse economies’ literature by constructing a conceptual framework for representing the multiple labour practices in economies. Transcending the simplistic market/non-market dichotomy, this conceptualises multiple kinds of labour existing along a spectrum from market-oriented to non-market oriented practices, which is cross-cut by another spectrum ranging from wholly monetised to wholly non-monetised practices. The resultant portrayal of a plurality of labour practices that seamlessly merge into each other is then applied to understanding the types …
How Much For Cash?: Tackling The Cash-In-Hand Culture In The European Property And Construction Sector, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin, Jan Windebank
Dec 2011
How Much For Cash?: Tackling The Cash-In-Hand Culture In The European Property And Construction Sector, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin, Jan Windebank
Colin C Williams
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain the cash-in-hand consumer culture in the property
and construction sector. The conventional assumption has been that consumers using cash-in-hand
transactions are rational economic actors doing so simply to save money. Here, this is evaluated
critically.
Design/methodology/approach – To do this, evidence from a 2007 Eurobarometer survey
involving 26,659 face-to-face interviews in 27 European Union member states is reported.
Findings – The finding is that saving money is the sole motive of consumers in just 38 per cent of
cash-in-hand transactions in the European property and construction sector, one of several …
Work Beyond Employment: Representations Of Informal Economic Activities, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Dec 2011
Work Beyond Employment: Representations Of Informal Economic Activities, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Colin C Williams
For much of the previous century, the informal sector was largely represented as a residue of a
previous mode of production confined to marginal populations and gradually disappearing due to
the inevitable and natural shift towards the formal economy across the globe. Over the past quarter
of a century, however, articles published in Work, Employment and Society have been at the forefront
of re-reading the informal sector. This article reveals how this body of literature has shown informal
economic activities to be a persistent and ubiquitous feature of the economic landscape, mapped
the complex and variable dynamics of formal and …
Entrepreneurship In The Informal Economy: Commercial Or Social Entrepreneurs?, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Dec 2011
Entrepreneurship In The Informal Economy: Commercial Or Social Entrepreneurs?, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Colin C Williams
Recent research has revealed that a large proportion of entrepreneurs startup
their ventures operating on a wholly or partially off-the-books basis. Until now, it
has been commonly assumed that those who operate in the informal economy are
exclusively commercial entrepreneurs. They are assumed to be rational economic
actors who weigh up the benefits of operating off-the-books against the costs of
being caught and decide to operate in this manner. The aim of this paper is to
evaluate critically this a priori assumption. Reporting evidence from a 2005/6 survey
involving face-to-face interviews with 102 informal entrepreneurs in Moscow in
Russia, the …
Re-Thinking Informal Entrepreneurship: Commercial Or Social Entrepreneurs?, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Dec 2011
Re-Thinking Informal Entrepreneurship: Commercial Or Social Entrepreneurs?, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Colin C Williams
This paper evaluates critically the assumption that entrepreneurs
who start-up their business ventures operating wholly or partially
off-the-books are engaged in commercial entrepreneurship. Reporting evidence
from a 2005–2006 survey involving face-to-face interviews with
298 informal entrepreneurs in Ukraine, the finding is that they are not all
commercially-driven. Instead, these informal entrepreneurs range from purely
rational economic actors who pursue for-profit logics through to purely social
entrepreneurs who pursue solely social logics, with the majority somewhere
in the middle of this spectrum combining both for-profit and social rationales.
The result is a call for a more nuanced understanding of the heterogeneous …
Evaluating The Persistence Of Selfprovisioning In Central And Eastern Europe: Some Evidence From Post-Soviet Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Dec 2011
Evaluating The Persistence Of Selfprovisioning In Central And Eastern Europe: Some Evidence From Post-Soviet Ukraine, Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin
Colin C Williams
Recently, it has become increasingly recognized that the reach of the market
economy is shallower than previously assumed and that other livelihood
practices persist, such as self-provisioning. However, neither the prevalence of
nor the rationales underpinning engagement in these non-market work
practices have been widely evaluated. To start to bridge this gap, this article
evaluates the extent of self-provisioning in post-Soviet Ukraine and the reasons
for engaging in such subsistence production. Until now, participants in selfprovisioning
have been portrayed either as rational economic actors, dupes,
seekers of self-identity, or simply doing so out of necessity or choice. Analyzing
face-to-face interviews …
