Gender multipliers of informal employment: an analysis with the total-flow model for the Turkish case

This article analyses gendered patterns of informal employment in Türkiye using the Total-Flow model to account for deliveries to both final demand and intermediate demand. We presume that informal employment is sustained in the economy due to the cost advantage not only for the employer but also for the purchasers of its products. We explore patterns of upstream transmission of gendered informal labour. We address the gendered formal–informal divide with demographic characteristics to unravel the intertwined social norms and economic realities. A noteworthy finding, based on cross-sectoral multipliers, is that informal employment in agriculture is highly associated with outputs of all other sectors. We introduce the rent gain from informality into our model and estimate the liability of formalization in employer sectors under three scenarios. We draw attention to the significance of the gender pay gap with the estimated high value of supplementary compensation for transition to formalization.