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The Coronavirus Pandemic and Europe’s Undeclared Economy: Impacts and a Policy Proposal

Author

Listed:
  • Williams Colin C.

    (Professor, Management School, University of Sheffield)

  • Kayaoglu Aysegul

    (PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Istanbul Technical University)

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a loss of revenues for enterprises and workers due to workplace closures and restrictions on movement to ‘flatten the curve’. In response, governments have made available temporary financial support to enterprises and workers affected. This paper evaluates a group currently excluded from this support, namely enterprises and workers in the undeclared economy, and a possible government policy response. To identify those involved, a 2019 Eurobarometer survey of undeclared work in Europe is reported. This reveals that one in every 132 European citizens relies wholly on undeclared earnings and the sectors and population groups involved. Given their reduced revenues and inability to access the temporary financial support, a voluntary disclosure initiative is recommended which brings undeclared enterprises and workers into the declared economy and onto the radar of state authorities by offering access to this temporary financial support if they disclose their previous undeclared work.

Suggested Citation

  • Williams Colin C. & Kayaoglu Aysegul, 2020. "The Coronavirus Pandemic and Europe’s Undeclared Economy: Impacts and a Policy Proposal," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 15(1), pages 80-92, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:seejeb:v:15:y:2020:i:1:p:80-92:n:7
    DOI: 10.2478/jeb-2020-0007
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Colin C. Williams, 2014. "Confronting the Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15370.
    2. Williams Colin, 2012. "Cross-National Variations in the Under-Reporting of Wages in South-East Europe: A Result of Over-Regulation or Under-Regulation?," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 7(1), pages 53-61, April.
    3. Krasniqi Besnik A. & Williams Colin C., 2017. "Explaining individual- and country-level variations in unregistered employment using a multi-level model: evidence from 35 Eurasian countries," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 12(2), pages 61-72, December.
    4. Gashi Ardiana & Williams Colin C., 2019. "Evaluating the Prevalence and Distribution of Unregistered Employment in Kosovo: Lessons from a 2017 Survey," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 7-20, June.
    5. Colin Williams & Jan Windebank, 2001. "Reconceptualising Paid Informal Exchange: Some Lessons from English Cities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(1), pages 121-140, January.
    6. Fields,Gary S., 2005. "A guide to multisector labor market models," Social Protection and Labor Policy and Technical Notes 32547, The World Bank.
    7. Schneider,Friedrich & Enste,Dominik H., 2016. "The Shadow Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781316600894.
    8. Williams Colin C. & Bezeredi Slavko, 2018. "Explaining and Tackling Under-Declared Employment in FYR Macedonia: The Employers Perspective," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 13(2), pages 19-31, December.
    9. Maloney, William F., 2004. "Informality Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1159-1178, July.
    10. Colin C. Williams & Ioana Alexandra Horodnic & Jan Windebank, 2017. "Evaluating the internal dualism of the informal sector: evidence from the European Union," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 44(4), pages 605-616, September.
    11. Tatiana Karabchuk & Aigul Zabirova, 2018. "Informal employment in service industries: estimations from nationally representative Labour Force Survey data of Russian Federation," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(11-12), pages 742-771, September.
    12. Allingham, Michael G. & Sandmo, Agnar, 1972. "Income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(3-4), pages 323-338, November.
    13. Fields,Gary S., 2005. "A guide to multisector labor market models," Policy Research Working Paper Series 32547, The World Bank.
    14. Colin C Williams, 2015. "Cross-national variations in the scale of informal employment," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(2), pages 118-135, May.
    15. Williams, Colin C., & Lapeyre, Frédéric,, 2017. "Dependent self-employment trends, challenges and policy responses in the EU," ILO Working Papers 994974993402676, International Labour Organization.
    16. Erkko Autio & Kun Fu, 2015. "Economic and political institutions and entry into formal and informal entrepreneurship," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 67-94, March.
    17. Colin C. Williams & Friedrich Schneider, 2016. "Measuring the Global Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16551.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Colin C Williams, 2021. "Tackling Undeclared Self-Employment in South-East Europe: from Deterrents to Preventative Policy Measures," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 2, pages 280-298, July.
    2. Aziz N. Berdiev & Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2022. "Do disease epidemics force economic activity underground? International evidence," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(2), pages 263-282, April.
    3. Nurudeen Abu & Awadh Ahmed Mohammed Gamal & Musa Abdullahi Sakanko & Ana Mateen & David Joseph & Ben-Obi Onyewuchi Amaechi, 2021. "How have COVID-19 Confirmed Cases and Deaths Affected Stock Markets? Evidence from Nigeria," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 15(1), February.
    4. Anna Spoz & Ilona Skibinska-Fabrowska & Grzegorz Kotlinski & Helena Zukowska, 2021. "The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Financial Performance of Public Companies in Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 955-976.
    5. Afiqah R. Radzi & Rahimi A. Rahman & Saud Almutairi, 2022. "Modeling COVID-19 Impacts and Response Strategies in the Construction Industry: PLS–SEM Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-25, April.
    6. Mukhtar A. Kassem & Afiqah R. Radzi & Asankha Pradeep & Mohammed Algahtany & Rahimi A. Rahman, 2023. "Impacts and Response Strategies of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Construction Industry Using Structural Equation Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-24, February.
    7. Williams Colin C. & Gashi Ardiana, 2022. "Formal Institutional Failings and Informal Employment: Evidence from the Western Balkans," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 17(2), pages 83-95, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    coronavirus; COVID-19; informal economy; undeclared work; tax evasion; public policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • K34 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Tax Law
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies

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