scholarly journals Evaluating Policy Approaches Towards Tackling Undeclared Work in the Czech Republic

2020 ◽  
pp. 396-417
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Policy Implication ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Theoretical Implication ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Undeclared Work

This paper evaluates two competing theories for explaining and tackling undeclared work. The dominant rational economic actor approach views undeclared work as arising when the perceived benefits of engaging in undeclared work outweigh the costs, so attention is put on increasing the costs, whilst the more recent social actor approach views undeclared work to result from the lack of citizens’ commitment to compliance and thus attempts to enhance vertical and horizontal trust. To evaluate these theories, 1,024 and 1,000 face-to-face interviews undertaken in 2007 and 2013 with a representative sample in the Czech Republic are analysed. The finding is that higher perceived penalties and risks of detection have no significant impact on the likelihood of conducting undeclared work. In contrast, the level of vertical and horizontal trust have a significant impact on engagement in undeclared work; the higher the vertical and horizontal trust, the lower is the likelihood of participation in undeclared work. The theoretical implication is that this evidence supports a new social actor approach. The policy implication is that the rational economic actor approach of increasing the penalties and risks of detection appears ineffective, and a new policy approach is proposed focused on improving vertical and horizontal trust.

scholarly journals Explaining participation in undeclared work in France: lessons for policy evaluation

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Windebank ◽  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
Keyword(s):  
Policy Framework ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
French Population ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Tax Morale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Undeclared Work

Purpose France is a model of best practice in the European Union as regards policy to combat undeclared work. The purpose of this paper is to take the country as a case study to evaluate the competing explanations of why people engage in undeclared work which underpin such policy, namely, the dominant rational-economic-actor approach and the more recent social-actor approach. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate these approaches, the results of 1,027 interviews undertaken in 2013 with a representative sample of the French population are analysed. Findings The finding is that higher perceived penalties and risks of detection have no significant impact on the likelihood of conducting undeclared work in France. In contrast, the level of tax morale has a significant impact on engagement in the activity: the higher the tax morale, the lower is the likelihood of participation in the undeclared economy. Higher penalties and risks of detection only decrease the likelihood of participation in undeclared work amongst the small minority of the French population with very low tax morale. Practical implications Current policy in France to counter undeclared work is informed principally by the rational-economic-actor approach based on a highly developed infrastructure for detection and significant penalties alongside incentives to declare small-scale own-account work. The present analysis suggests that this approach needs to be supplemented with measures to improve citizens’ commitment to compliance by enhancing tax morale. Originality/value This case study of a country with a well-developed policy framework to combat undeclared work provides evidence to support the social-actor approach for informing policy change.

scholarly journals Does the Quality of a Place Affect Well-being?

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
František Murgaš ◽  
Michal Klobučník
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Golden Standard ◽  
Relationship Of

AbstractAn important methodological question in the general discourses concerning the quality of life is scale and mutual relationship of its two dimensions. In this article, the subjective dimension is understood as well-being; data from its spatial differentiation in districts of the Czech Republic were obtained from a face-to-face interview. The objective dimension is understood from the geographical aspect as quality of a place; it is quantified by the indicators of the golden standard of quality of life. Data from its spatial differentiation in districts of the Czech Republic are secondary. The article aims to compare the data of well-being and quality of a place for all the districts, with a premise of a higher level of well-being in the districts with a higher quality of a place, and vice-versa. This would answer the question of whether the quality of a place affects well-being.

scholarly journals Explaining different types of undeclared work: lessons from a 2019 Eurobarometer survey

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Williams ◽  
Gamze Oz-Yalaman
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Undeclared Work ◽  
Different Types

PurposeUntil now, most scholars have used one of four competing theories to explain undeclared work. Political economy theories explain undeclared work as resulting from the exclusion of workers from formal work and welfare, neo-liberal theories explain such work as a voluntarily chosen rational economic decision and neo-institutionalist and post-structuralist theories explain those engaging as social actors who disagree with the formal rules or seek to help others out respectively. Recognising that each theory focuses upon different employment relationships, this paper evaluates the proposition that these different theories are more explanations of different types of undeclared work.Design/methodology/approachTo evaluate this, data reported is collected in 2019 across 28 European countries (the 27 member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom) in special Eurobarometer survey 92.1 involving 27,565 interviews.FindingsOf the 3.6% of citizens participating in undeclared work, 10% engage in undeclared waged employment, 42% in undeclared self-employment and 48% in undeclared paid favours. Reporting their rationales, 7% state purely political economy exclusion-driven reasons, 19% solely neo-liberal rational economic actor reasons, 20% purely social actor reasons and 54% mixed motives. A logistic regression analysis finds those engaging in undeclared waged employment significantly more likely to state purely exclusion-driven rationales, those engaging in undeclared self-employment significantly more likely to state neo-liberal rational economic actor and neo-institutionalist social actor rationales and those engaging in undeclared paid favours post-structuralist social actor motives.Practical implicationsThis finding suggests that the policy initiatives required to tackle undeclared work will vary according to the type of undeclared work addressed. These are outlined.Originality/valueEvidence is provided that a different weighting needs to be given to different theories when explaining each type of undeclared work.

scholarly journals The Effect of Socioeconomic Classes on the Subjective Perception of Economic Situation

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (33) ◽  
pp. 102-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radek Tahal ◽  
Zuzana Chytková ◽  
Marek Novinský
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Consumer Behaviour ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Financial Attitudes ◽  
Czech Population ◽  
The Future

Abstract The paper deals with the influence of a consumer´s inclusion in a socioeconomic class on the rate of optimism or pessimism in anticipating the future, with regard to the consumer behaviour, the attitudes towards finances, savings, working efforts and lifestyle. The data are based on a large-scale research carried out with a representative sample of the Czech population in the latter half of 2014. The regression statistical analysis was used for calculating and explaining the variables. The outcomes show that people are more optimistic in foreseeing their own future than the future of the Czech Republic. As for the consumer behaviour and financial attitudes, the differences between the classes are not prominent. There are, however, differences in such issues as the fear of poverty or finding suitable jobs.

scholarly journals Fear the Walking Dead? Incidence and Effects of Zombie Firms in Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Issam Hallak ◽  
Péter Harasztosi ◽  
Sebastian Schich
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Policy Implication ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Corporate Capital ◽  
The Walking Dead ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Firm Level Data

One explanation for the observed lack of economic dynamism in Europe is that so-called zombie firms are spreading and that they crowd out the growth of other, potentially more “lively”, companies. Zombie firms are firms that apparently are unable to repay their debt and yet, they continue operating. The report describes estimates for 2010 and 2013 of the incidence of zombie firms across 19 European countries using firm-level data for more than one million companies. Importantly, it uses three alternative definitions of what constitutes a zombie firm to ensure robustness of estimates. The report finds that zombie firms are spreading in Europe, with the estimated incidence for 2013 being higher than for 2010. It also identifies considerable differences across countries. Zombie firm shares as of overall corporate capital are particularly high in Greece and Spain, but low in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Distinguish among firms in terms of size and age, the report finds that larger and older firms, as compared to relatively smaller and younger firms, are more likely to be zombie firms. The report also finds that the growth of zombie firms in terms of employment crowds out the growth of other, non-zombie firms, especially young ones. Thus, one policy implication is that, greater economic activity is achieved by allowing zombie firms to exit the market.

scholarly journals Evaluating policy approaches for tackling informal entrepreneurship

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic ◽  
Colin C. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Actor Model ◽  
Tax Morale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Informal Entrepreneurship ◽  
Eastern European Countries

Purpose When tackling the informal economy, an emergent literature has called for the conventional rational economic actor approach (which uses deterrents to ensure that the costs of undeclared work outweigh the benefits) to be replaced or complemented by a social actor approach which focusses upon improving tax morale. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of these two policy approaches in reducing informal sector entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate this, data are reported from a 2015 representative survey involving 1,384 face-to-face interviews with owners or managers of small businesses in three South-Eastern European countries, namely, Croatia, Bulgaria and FYR Macedonia. Findings The findings provide support for the “social actor” approach and display that small businesses have a greater propensity to perceive competitors as operating informally when the level of tax morale is lower. Meanwhile, no support for the deterrence measures of the “rational economic actor” model is reported. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of the study is that the paper is not able to display the reasons for the low level of tax morale and horizontal trust. Therefore, further in-depth qualitative research is necessary to explain whether and how the low levels of trust are determined by the failures of various formal institutions. Originality/value This is the first known study on small businesses which analyses simultaneously two distinct policy approaches that aim to reduce participation in informal entrepreneurship.

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