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A ‘White Lie’ of Business Informality: An Exploration of Non-Registered White-owned Businesses in the United States of America

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  • Michael J. Pisani

    (Department of Management, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, United States of America)

Abstract

Utilizing a 2021 nationally representative sample of 7,504 White-owned employer businesses (WOBs) in the United States of America (USA), the extent, and the determinants of WOB business registration are estimated. Business registration is employed as a proxy for business in/formality. Approximately one-fifth (22.5%) of all employer WOBs are unregistered or informal business concerns hidden from government purview. The primary determinants of employer WOB informality are business size (annual revenues under $500,000 and few paid employees), a business owner with less than a four-year college degree, and an upbringing in a lower- or middle-class environment, among other findings. Notably, this research reveals the white lie of the magnitude of White-owned employer business informality in the USA.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael J. Pisani, 2024. "A ‘White Lie’ of Business Informality: An Exploration of Non-Registered White-owned Businesses in the United States of America," Journal of Economic Analysis, Anser Press, vol. 3(3), pages 25-37, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bba:j00001:v:3:y:2024:i:3:p:25-37:d:214
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andreas, Peter, 2013. "Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199746880, Decembrie.
    2. Leandro Medina & Mr. Friedrich Schneider, 2018. "Shadow Economies Around the World: What Did We Learn Over the Last 20 Years?," IMF Working Papers 2018/017, International Monetary Fund.
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