Informal employment in transition countries: empirical evidence and research challenges

Arbeitspapier

Even though informal employment is wide-spread in transition economies the literature on this phenomenon in the region is rather scarce. For policy makers it is important to know the incidence and the determinants of informal employment. In the first part of the paper we demonstrate that its incidence and to a lesser degree its determinants depend on the definition used. We then discuss studies that attempt to test for labor market segmentation in transition economies along the formal-informal divide. The presented results are inconclusive and we come to the conclusion that more work needs to be done before we can make definitive statements about whether labor markets are integrated or segmented in transition economies. Last but not least we introduce a new research area that links risk preferences and selection into labor market states. We show that if individuals have a choice, relatively risk loving workers have an increased likelihood to choose informal employment and self-employment.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Quaderni - Working Paper DSE ; No. 982

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Agricultural Labor Markets ; Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Lehmann, Hartmut
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche (DSE)
• (where): Bologna
• (when): 2014

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.6092/unibo/amsacta/4132
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/159820
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET