1st Edition

Routledge Handbook of the Informal Economy

Edited By Ceyhun Elgin Copyright 2025
    458 Pages 89 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Delve into the complex landscape of the informal economy with the Routledge Handbook of the Informal Economy, a groundbreaking volume that transcends conventional economic analysis by contextualizing it within a broader regulatory and social framework. This comprehensive handbook offers cutting-edge categorical, thematic, and regional analyses of the informal, or shadow, economy. An esteemed international ensemble of contributors draws on diverse economic perspectives, exploring a spectrum of definitions and measures, including household, firm-level, and employment-based metrics, alongside perceptional and model-based estimates. Employing a variety of econometric and methodological approaches, the volume provides both regional and global estimates of the informal economy's extent. Beyond conventional boundaries, it unveils various facets of informality, from child labor, tax evasion, and self-employment to precarious and undeclared work. In-depth examinations of the determinants and consequences of informality enhance the volume's robust analysis. As a forward-looking compendium, the handbook also offers insights into the future trajectory of the informal economy as we journey further into the 21st century. This definitive and up-to-date reference work is indispensable for readers in labor economics, development economics, political economy, policy studies, and sociology, offering a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted dimensions and dynamics of the informal economy.

    1 - Literature Review of Utility Functions Within Computerized Agent-Based Models for Tax Evasion and Non-Compliance; Sascha Hokamp

     

    2 - Tax Evasion and Enforcement; Yeliz Kacamak

     

    3 - Informal Urban Land Development Types: Social and Business Practices; Patricia Acosta Restrepo

     

    4 - The Propensity of Businesses to Participate in the Shadow Economy and Transition Between Formality and Informality in Serbia; Gorana Krstić and Branko Radulović

     

    5 – Examining the Determinants of Average Hours Worked: A Cross-Country Analysis; Duru Gültepe and Ceyhun Elgin

     

    6 - Why Be Afraid of Detection? Formalization Program and Informal Household Enterprises in Nigeria; Emmanuel Umoru Haruna

     

    7 - Informality and Well-Being; David Anzola

     

    8 - Technology in the Margins: Exploring the Dynamic Interplay Between Technology and Informality; Aglaya Batz Lineiro, Carlos Alberto Ojeda Sanchez, and Nelson Alfonso Gomez Cruz

     

    9 - Corruption, Tax Evasion, and Social Values: An Immigrant-Based Analysis; Anastasia Litina

     

    10 - Do Tax Audits Remain the Primary Component of Anti-Evasion Tax Policies?; Gaetano Lisi

     

    11 - Informality and Task Content of Occupations: Changes in Employment and Wages in Turkey; Anıl Duman and Gulsun Alca

     

    12 - Evidence From the Shadows: Unreported Income, Undeclared Work and Tax Morale in Greece; Vasileios Vlachos and Aristis Bitzenis

     

    13 - Does the Informal Economy Determine Inward Foreign Direct Investment? Vasileios Vlachos

     

    14 - Shadow Economy Over the Business Cycle: How do Formal and Shadow Cycles Interact?; Serdar Birinci  and Ceyhun Elgin

     

    15 - Provincial Estimates of Informality: Example from Turkey; Ceyhun Elgin and Gamze Öz Yalaman

     

    16 - Measuring the Size of the Shadow Economy Using a Dynamic General Equilibrium Model; Valeska Kohan, Mario Solis-Garcia, and Yingtong Xie

     

    17 - DGE-Based Estimates of the Shadow Economy: Is the Informal Economy an Escape Valve?; Valeska Kohan, Mario Solis-Garcia, and Yingtong Xie

     

    18 - Institutional Quality and Informal Economy Nexus in the Middle East and North Africa, Fatih Kırşanlı

     

    19 - A Macroeconomic Perspective on Gender, Growth, and Informality; Adem Yavuz Elveren and Idil Goksel

     

    20 - A Macroeconomic Perspective on Gender, Economic Crises, Inequality, and Informality; Adem Yavuz Elveren and Damla Topbaş

     

    21 - Employment Segmentation, Occupational Mobility and Formalizing Informality in MENA Countries: The Scope and Impact of Policies; Philippe Adair, Shireen AlAzzawi, and Vladimir Hlasny

     

    22 - Access to Finance and the Size of the Informal Sector; Ceyhun Elgin, Turkmen Goksel, and Barchynai Kimsanova

     

    23 - A Text Analysis of Research Publications Navigating Through Informality in the Age of Pandemics; Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu, Eduard Mihai Manta, and Cristina Maria Geambasu

     

    24 - Exploring the Regional Shadow Economy Research Field Through Bibliometric Analysis; Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu, Eduard Mihai Manta, Cristina-Maria Geambasu, and Margareta-Stela Florescu

     

    25 - Exploring the Relationship Between Informality and Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Analysis; Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu, Friedrich G. Schneider, Monica Aureliana Petcu, Stefania Cristina Curea, and Eduard Mihai Manta

     

    26 – Tax Morale: Model-Based Estimates; Gamze Öz Yalaman and Ceyhun Elgin

     

    Biography

    Ceyhun Elgin is a professor of economics at American University in Bulgaria and Bogazici University in Turkey. He got his BA in economics from Bogazici University and then subsequently obtained his PhD in economics at the University of Minnesota, USA in 2010. His research interests are in applied macroeconomics, economic growth, development economics, and political economics, with a particular emphasis on the economics of the informal sector. Previously, Dr. Elgin also had visiting positions at Columbia University, USA, IMF, WB, and Boston University, USA.