Evaluating ‘”varieties of capitalism” by the extent and nature of the informal economy : the case of South-Eastern Europe

Part of : SEEJE ; Vol.10, No.2, 2012, pages 113-130

Issue:
Pages:
113-130
Author:
Abstract:
‘Varieties of capitalism’ have been conventionally delineated by the varying types of formal economy that exist. Given that the vast majority of employment globally is in the informal economy, this paper offers a new analytical framework which delineates varieties of capitalism by their degree of informalization and the character of the informal economy. Examining South East Europe through this lens using evidence from a 2007 Eurobarometer survey, the finding is that this region is a ‘quasi-formal market economy’ and its informal economy composed largely of quasi-formal employment relations, albeit with significant variations in the degree and nature of the informal economy across different countries, sectors and population groups.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
informal economy, varieties of capitalism, employment relations, South-East Europe
Notes:
Περιέχει σχήμα, πίνακες και βιβλιογραφία, JEL Classification: E26, O17
References (1):
  1. Amable, B., 2003, The Diversity of Modern Capitalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Benovska-Sabkova, M., 2002, Informal farm work in North Western Bulgaria and Eastern Serbia, inR. Neef and M. Stǎnculescu (eds.), The social impact of informal economies in eastern Europe,Aldershot: Ashgate, 119-42.Boeke, J.H., 1942, Economies and economic policy in dual societies, Haarlem: Tjeenk Willnik.Castells, M. and Portes, A., 1989, World underneath: the origins, dynamics and effects of the informaleconomy, in A. Portes, M. Castells M and L. Benton (eds.), The informal economy: studiesin advanced and less developing countries, Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 19-42.Castree, N., Coe, N.M., Ward, K. and Samers, M., 2004, Spaces of work: global capitalism and thegeographies of labour, London: Sage.Centre for the Study of Democracy, 2008, Levelling the Playing Field in Bulgaria: How Public andPrivate Institutions Can Partner for Effective Policies Targeting Grey Economy and Corruption,Sofia: Centre for the Study of Democracy.Chavdarova, T., 2002, The informal economy in Bulgaria: historical background and present situation,in R. Neef and M. Stǎnculescu (eds.), The Social Impact of Informal Economies in EasternEurope, Aldershot: Ashgate, 82-105.Chen, M., 2007, Rethinking the Informal Economy: Linkages with the Formal Economy and theFormal Regulatory Environment, Working Paper No. 46, New York: United Nations.Chowdury, S.A., 2007, Everyday economic practices: the ‘hidden transcripts’ of Egyptian voices,London: Routledge.Christofides, L.N., 2007, Undeclared work in the Republic of Cyprus, http://www.eu-employmentobservatory.net/resources/reviews/EN-ReviewSpring07.pdfComelieau, C., 2002, The Impasse of Modernity, London: Zed.Cross, J.C., 2000, “Street vendors, modernity and postmodernity: conflict and compromise in theglobal economy”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 20,1, 29-51.Cross, J. and Morales, A., 2007, “Introduction: locating street markets in the modern/postmodernworld”, in J. Cross and A. Morales (eds.) Street entrepreneurs: people, place and politics in localand global perspective, London: Routledge, 1-19.Danopoulos, C.P. and Znidaric, B. 2007, “Informal economy, tax evasion and poverty in a democraticsetting: Greece”, Mediterranean Quarterly, 18,2, 67-84.Davis, M., 2006, Planet of slums, London: Verso.De Soto, H., 1989, The other path, London: Harper and Row.De Soto, H., 2001, The Mystery of Capital: why capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everywhereelse, London: Black Swan.Dibben, P. and Williams, C.C., 2012, “Varieties of Capitalism and Employment Relations: InformallyDominated Market Economies”, Industrial Relations: a Review of Economy & Society,Escobar, A. 2001, “Culture sits in places: reflections of globalism and subaltern strategies of localization”,Political Geography, 20,2, 139-74.European Commission, 1998, Communication of the Commission on undeclared work, http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/empl_esf/docs/com98-219_en.pdf.European Commission, 2007, Stepping up the fight against undeclared work, Brussels: EuropeanCommission.Fernandez-Kelly, P., 2006, Introduction, in P. Fernandez-Kelly and J. Shefner (eds.), Out of theShadows: Political Action and the Informal Economy in Latin America, Pennsylvania: PennsylvaniaState University Press.Frynas, J. and Wood, G., 2006, “The Institutional Basis of Economic Failure: Anatomy of the SegmentedBusiness System”, Socio-Economic Review, 4,2, 239-277.Fulcher, J., 2004, Capitalism: a very short introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Gallin, D., 2001, “Propositions on trade unions and informal employment in time of globalization”,Antipode, 19,4, 531-49.Geertz, C., 1963, Old Societies and New States: the quest for modernity in Asia and Africa, Glencoe,IL: Free Press.Gerxhani, K., 2004, “The informal sector in developed and less developed countries: a literaturesurvey”, Public Choice, 120, 267-300.Ghinararu, C., 2007, Undeclared work in Romania, http://www.eu-employment-observatory.net/resources/reports/RomaniaUDW2007.pdfGibson-Graham, J.K., 2006, Post-Capitalist Politics, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Gudeman, S., 2001, The Anthropology of Economy, Oxford: Blackwell.Gupta, A., 1998, Postcolonial development: agriculture in the making of modern India, Durham,NC: Duke University Press.Hall, P. and Soskice, D., 2001, (eds.), Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations ofComparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Hart, K., 1973, “Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana”, Journal of ModernAfrican Studies, 11,1, 61-89.Harvey, D., 2000, Spaces of Hope, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Ignjatović, M., 2007, Undeclared work in Slovenia, http://www.eu-employment-observatory.net/resources/reports/SloveniaUDW2007.pdfILO, 2002a, Decent work and the informal economy, Geneva: International Labour Office.ILO, 2002b, Women and men in the informal economy: a statistical picture, Geneva: InternationalLabour Office.Jütting, J.P. and Laiglesia, J.R., 2009, “Employment, poverty reduction and development: what’snew?”, in J.P. Jütting and J.R. Laiglesia (eds.), Is Informal Normal? Towards more and betterjobs in developing countries, Paris: OECD.Kapoor, A., 2007, “The SEWA way: shaping another future for informal labour”, Futures, 39, 554-68.Karantinos, D., 2007, Undeclared work in Greece, http://www.eu-employment-observatory.net/resources/reports/GreeceUDW2007.pdfKarpuskiene, V., 2007, “Undeclared Work, Tax Evasion and Avoidance in Lithuania”, Paper presentedat colloquium of the Belgian Federal Service for Social Security on Undeclared Work,Tax Evasion and Avoidance, Brussels, June.Kim, B-Y., 2005, “Poverty and informal economy participation: evidence from Romania”, Economicsof Transition, 13, 1, 163-85.Kudva, N., 2009, “The everyday and the episodic: the spatial and political impacts of urban informality”,Environment and Planning A, 41, 1614-28.Latouche, S., 1993, In the Wake of the Affluent Society: an exploration of post-development, London:Zed.Lazaridis, G. and Koumandraki, M., 2003, “Survival ethnic entrepreneurs in Greece: a mosaic ofinformal and formal business activities”, Sociological Research On-Line, http://www.socresonline.org.uk/8/2/lazaridis.htmlLewis, A., 1959, The Theory of Economic Growth. London: Allen and Unwin.Liaropoulos, L., Siskou, O., Kaitelidou, D., Theodorou, M. and Katostaras, T., 2008, “Informalpayments in public hospitals in Greece”, Health Policy, 87,1, 72-81.Loukanova, P. and Bezlov, T., 2007. Bulgaria, <http://www.eu-employment-observatory.net/resources/reports/BulgariaUDW2007.pdf>.Lyberaki, A. and Maroukis, T., 2005, “Albanian immigrants in Athens: new survey evidence onemployment and integration”, Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 5,1, 21-48.Maloney, W.F., 2004. “Informality revisited”, World Development, 32,7, 1159-78.Neef, R., 2002, “Aspects of the informal economy in a transforming country: the case of Romania”,International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 26,2, 299-322.OECD, 2002, Measuring the non-observed economy, Paris: OECD.OECD, 2005, Economic Survey of Greece 2005, Paris: OECD.Perry, G. and Maloney, W.F., 2007, “Overview: informality- exit and exclusion”, in G.E. Perry, W.F.Maloney, O.A. Arias, P. Fajnzylber, A.D. Mason and J. Saavedra-Chanduvi (eds.), Informality:exit and exclusion, Washington DC: The World Bank.Persson, A. and Malmer, H., 2006, Purchasing and performing informal employment in Sweden:part 1: results from various studies, Malmo: Skatteverket.Pollard, J., McEwan, C., Laurie, N. and Stenning, A., 2009, “Economic geography under postcolonialscrutiny”, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 34,2, 137-42.Portes, A., 1994, “The informal economy and its paradoxes”, in N.J. Smelser and R. Swedberg (eds.)The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 161-85.Portes, A. and Roberts, B., 2005, “The free-market city: Latin American urbanization in the yearsof the neoliberal experiment”, Studies in Comparative International Development 40,1, 43-82.Renooy, P., Ivarsson, S., van der Wusten-Gritsai, O. and Meijer, R., 2004, Undeclared work in anenlarged Union: an analysis of shadow work - an in-depth study of specific items, Brussels:European Commission.Rifkin, J., 2000, The Age of Access, Harmondsworth: Penguin.Rodgers, P. and Williams, C.C., 2009, “The informal economy in the former Soviet Union and inCentral and Eastern Europe”, International Journal of Sociology, 39,2, 3-11.Round, J. and Williams, C.C., 2008, “Everyday tactics and spaces of power: the role of informaleconomies in post-Soviet Ukraine”, Social and Cultural Geography, 9,2, 171-85.Round, J., Williams, C.C. and Rodgers, P., 2008, “Corruption in the post-Soviet workplace: the experiencesof recent graduates in contemporary Ukraine”, Work, Employment & Society, 22,1, 149-66.Ruskola, T., 2005, “Home Economics: what is the difference between a family and a corporation?”,in M. Ertman and J.C. Williams (eds.) Rethinking Commodification: cases and readings in lawand culture, New York: New York University Press.Samers, M., 2005, “The myopia of ‘diverse economies’, or a critique of the ‘informal economy’”,Antipode, 37,5, 875-86.Sassen, S., 1996, “Service employment regimes and the new inequality”, in E. Mingione (ed.), Urbanpoverty and the underclass, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Schneider, F., 2008 (ed.), The hidden economy, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Schneider, F. and Enste, D.H., 2002, The Shadow Economy: an international survey, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.Scott, A.J., 2001, “Capitalism, cities and the production of symbolic forms”, Transactions of theInstitute of British Geographers, NS 26,1, 11-23.Sedlenieks, K., 2003, “Cash in an Envelope: Corruption and Tax Avoidance as an Economic strategyin Contemporary Riga”, in K-O. Arnstberg and T. Boren (eds.), Everyday Economy in Russia,Poland and Latvia, Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell.Sepulveda, L. and Syrett, S., 2007, “Out of the shadows? formalisation approaches to informaleconomic activity”, Policy and Politics, 35,1, 87-104.Small Business Council, 2004, Small Business in the Informal Economy: Making the Transition tothe Formal Economy, London: Small Business Council.Snyder, K.A., 2004, “Routes to the informal economy in New York’s East Village: crisis, economicsand identity”, Sociological Perspectives, 47, 2, 215-40.Stǎnculescu, M., 2002, “Romanian households between state, market and informal economies”, inR. Neef and M. Stǎnculescu (eds.) The social impact of informal economies in eastern Europe,Aldershot: Ashgate.Tatsos, N., 2001, The underground economy and tax evasion in Greece, Athens: Editions Papazisis.Whitley, R., 1999, Divergent Capitalisms: the Social Structuring and Change of Business Systems,Oxford: Oxford University Press.Whitson, R., 2007, “Hidden struggles: spaces of power and resistance in informal work in urbanArgentina”, Environment and Planning A, 39, 2916-34.Williams, C.C., 2003, “Evaluating the penetration of the commodity economy”, Futures, 35, 857-868.Williams, C.C., 2004, Cash-in-hand work: the underground sector and the hidden economy of favours,Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Williams, C.C., 2006, The hidden enterprise culture: entrepreneurship in the underground economy,Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Williams, C.C., 2007, “Tackling undeclared work in Europe: lessons from a study of Ukraine”,European Journal of Industrial Relations, 13,2, 219–37.Williams, C.C., 2009, “Formal and informal employment in Europe: beyond dualistic representations”,European Urban and Regional Studies, 16,2, 147-59.Williams, C.C., 2010a, “Beyond the market/non-market divide: a total social organisation of labourapproach”, International Journal of Social Economics, 37,6, 402–14.Williams, C.C., 2010b, “Beyond the formal/informal jobs divide: evaluating the prevalence ofhybrid ‘under-declared’ employment in South-Eastern Europe”, International Journal of HumanResource Management, 21,14, 2529-46.Williams, C.C. and Windebank, J., 1998, Informal Employment in the advanced economies: implicationsfor work and welfare, London: Routledge.Williams, C.C. and Windebank, J., 2003, “The slow advance and uneven penetration ofcommodification”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 27, 2, 250-264.Williams, C.C., Round, J. and Rodgers, P., 2007, “Beyond the formal/informal economy binaryhierarchy”, International Journal of Social Economics, 34, 6, 402-414.Williams, C.C., Nadin, S., Rodgers, P., Round, J. and Windebank, J., 2011, “Beyond the formal/informal labour dualism: mapping the social organization of labour in Moscow”, SociologicalResearch On-Line, 16(1) www.socresonline.org.uk/16/1/13htmlWilliams, J.C. and Zelizer, V.A., 2005, “To commodify or not to commodify: that is not the question”,in M. Ertman and J.C. Williams (eds.) Rethinking Commodification: cases and readingsin law and culture, New York: New York University Press.Woolfson, C., 2007, “Pushing the Envelope: The ‘Informalization’ of Labour in Post-CommunistNew EU Member States”, Work, Employment and Society, 21,3, 551-64.Žabko, M.A. and Rajevska, F., 2007, “Undeclared Work and Tax Evasion: Case of Latvia”, Paperpresented at colloquium of the Belgian Federal Service for Social Security on Undeclared Work,Tax Evasion and Avoidance. Brussels, June.Zelizer, V.A., 2005, The Purchase of Intimacy, Princeton: Princeton University Press.Zelizer, V., 2011, Economic Lives: how culture shapes the economy, Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress.