Beyond the marginalization thesis

What is it about?

Grounded in an emergent recognition that those people in formal employment conduct the vast majority of work in the shadow economy, the aim of this paper is to evaluate for the first time the degree to which shadow work is undertaken by those in formal jobs and the characteristics of those in formal employment who participate in the shadow economy.

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Why is it important?

The finding is that in the European Union, the formally employed undertake a disproportionate share of work in the shadow economy. Analysing the characteristics of the employed most likely to work in the shadow economy however, it is those who benefit least from the formal economy, namely younger unmarried men and on lower-incomes living in rural areas, working in the construction sector and in small firms.

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