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Colin C Williams

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Full-Text Articles in International and Comparative Labor Relations

2019 Annual Platform Survey: Tackling Undeclared In The Collaborative Economy And Bogus Self-Employment, Data Exchange And Data Protection, And Cross-Border Sanctions, Colin C. Williams Oct 2019

2019 Annual Platform Survey: Tackling Undeclared In The Collaborative Economy And Bogus Self-Employment, Data Exchange And Data Protection, And Cross-Border Sanctions, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This survey collected information from EU Member States, as well as Iceland and Norway, on three issues:
 Tackling undeclared work in the collaborative economy and bogus self-employment.
 Data exchange and data protection.
 Cross-border sanctions.
Of the 28 Platform members from EU Member States as well as Iceland and Norway, 28 out of 30 responses were received. In addition, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) provided qualitative feedback on the role of social partners and their cooperation with enforcement authorities to tackle undeclared work in the areas covered by the survey.

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Shadows: Tackling Undeclared Work In The European Union, Ioana Horodnic, Colin C. Williams Jul 2019

Shadows: Tackling Undeclared Work In The European Union, Ioana Horodnic, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Across the member states of the European Union and beyond, paid transactions are occuring that are not declared to the state for tax, social security or labour law purposes. The practice is not a minority one. As a result, tackling undeclared work has become a core issue on the policy agendas of both governments and the European Commission, reflected in the establishment of the European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work. 
How, therefore, can undeclared work be tackled? A review of the literature indicates two major distinct approaches. First, a rational economic actor approach that tackles undeclared work by ensuring that the …

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Dependent Self-Employment: Trends, Challenges And Policy Responses In The Eu, Colin C. Williams Dec 2017

Dependent Self-Employment: Trends, Challenges And Policy Responses In The Eu, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Across the EU28, there is not only a significant ‘jobs gap’ with only 70.1 per cent of
the working age population in jobs but also concerns over the quality of jobs. One
particular concern is that employees are being falsely classified as self-employed by
employers in order to circumvent collective agreements, labour laws (e.g., minimum
wages, working time legislation), employment tax and other employer liabilities implied
in the standard contract of employment, and that the emergent ‘gig’ or ‘platform’ economy
is accelerating this trend.
This report evaluates this emergent employment relationship, here termed ‘dependent’
self-employment, which covers those classified as …

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European Platform Undeclared Work 2017 Platform Survey Report: Organisational Characteristics Of Enforcement Bodies, Measures Adopted To Tackle Undeclared Work, And The Use Of Databases And Digital Tools, Colin C. Williams Oct 2017

European Platform Undeclared Work 2017 Platform Survey Report: Organisational Characteristics Of Enforcement Bodies, Measures Adopted To Tackle Undeclared Work, And The Use Of Databases And Digital Tools, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This report presents the main findings of the first online survey of members of the European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work. A total of 23 Member States responded.

Organisational characteristics of enforcement bodies

Undeclared work covers paid activities that are lawful as regards their nature but are not declared to public authorities so as to evade either payment of taxes, social security contributions and/or labour laws. In three-quarters of Member States, responsibility for these three forms of evasion lies in separate public authorities, with each having separate targets and key performance indicators (KPIs). The outcome is a departmental ‘silos’ approach, and …

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Evaluating Policy Measures To Tackle Undeclared Work: The Role Of Stakeholder Collaboration In Building Trust And Improving Policy-Making, Colin C. Williams, Anton Kojouharov Jul 2015

Evaluating Policy Measures To Tackle Undeclared Work: The Role Of Stakeholder Collaboration In Building Trust And Improving Policy-Making, Colin C. Williams, Anton Kojouharov

Colin C Williams

The aim of this paper is to examine and analyse the realm of policy evaluation approaches and methods as they relate to assessing measures to tackle undeclared work. The discussion is set at the backdrop of a brief review of the more prominent theoretical and conceptual considerations in the policy evaluation literature. The paper then investigates results from policy assessments and evaluations illuminated in the previous GREY working papers, as well as some selected from the Eurofound database. The analysis of a limited sample of available policy evaluations and results demonstrates that a common probable cause of policy failure with …

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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. 

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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 – …

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