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on Informal and Underground Economics |
| By: | Hisham Aidi |
| Abstract: | This piece examines the role of labor and religious movements in the face of the “informalization” of the African economy. How does the growth of an informal sector set back class formation and labor activism? How will the rise of economic networks outside formal economic and political channels affect state capacity? Can labor unions develop organizational independence if the labor market is segmented with a growing number of informal workers? What happens when labor market “insiders” confront a growing number of labor market “outsiders”? |
| Date: | 2022–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:pbecon:pb_63_22 |
| By: | Abdoulaye Ndiaye; Kyle Herkenhoff; Abdoulaye Cissé; Alessandro Dell'Acqua; Ahmadou A. Mbaye |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the welfare effects associated with the provision of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits when formal workers represent only a small proportion of the labor market and informal workers can submit fraudulent claims for UI benefits. We develop a model that incorporates these features and also allows for varying degrees of enforcement and funding sources. We then estimate the model’s key parameters by conducting a custom labor force survey in Senegal. We show that the moral hazard response to the UI benefits among workers is small and their liquidity gains are large: an extra dollar of UI benefits yields a consumption-equivalent gain of 50–80 cents, which exceeds comparable U.S. estimates by a factor of 10–20. We then show that the welfare gains depend on the program design: UI funded through payroll taxes is effective and feasible as long as the ratio of formal workers to the benefit level is sufficiently high, while UI funded through consumption taxes generally offers lower welfare benefits but is more resistant to fraudulent claims. Our study highlights the welfare importance of the design of UI financing and suggests large liquidity and consumption smoothing gains of UI in contexts with high informality and potential fraud. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11271 |
| By: | Matias Giaccobasso (VATT Institute for Economic Research); Brad Nathan (Rutgers University); Ricardo Perez-Truglia (University of California, Los Angeles); Alejandro Zentner (University of Texas at Dallas) |
| Abstract: | Do perceptions about government spending affect willingness to pay taxes? We test this hypothesis with a natural field experiment that focuses on the allocation of property taxes to public schools. Our results show that taxpayers often misperceive the destination of their tax dollars. By introducing shocks to households’ perceptions via an information-provision experiment, we find that perceptions of how tax dollars are used significantly affect the probability of filing a tax appeal. Moreover, the effects are consistent with reciprocal motivations: individuals are more willing to pay taxes if they believe that the government services funded by those taxes will provide greater personal benefit. |
| Keywords: | taxes, protest, public services, education, redistribution |
| JEL: | C93 H26 I22 K34 K42 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fit:wpaper:28 |
| By: | Florent Kambasu Kasula (Université catholique du Graben [Butembo, Congo-Kinshasa]) |
| Abstract: | In several sub-Saharan African countries, informal apprenticeships are the preferred route to wage employment. Thus, it is a question of studying the different registers of transmission of skills regarding informal professional apprenticeships in the building careers, mainly masonry, in the region of Butembo, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On construction sites, the learning of masonry is organized through a social and economic logic, while the pedagogical logic of transmitting skills is more based on the analogy and proceduralization of the site. These different patterns are often reflected in the motivation for recruiting apprentices or the motivations to learn masonry. |
| Abstract: | Dans plusieurs pays d'Afrique subsaharienne, l'apprentissage informel constitue la voie privilégiée d'accès à l'emploi salarié. Ainsi, est-il question d'en étudier les différents registres de transmission des compétences quant à l'apprentissage professionnel informel dans les métiers du bâtiment, principalement, la maçonnerie, dans la région de Butembo, en République démocratique du Congo. Sur les chantiers de construction, l'apprentissage de la maçonnerie s'organise à travers une logique sociale économique pendant que la logique pédagogique de transmission des compétences est plus basée sur l'analogie et la procéduralisation du chantier. Ces différents schèmes se traduisent souvent à partir du mobile de recrutement des apprentis ou des motivations à apprendre la maçonnerie. |
| Keywords: | informal learning, masonry, transmission of skills, On-the-job learning, informal learning masonry transmission of skills On-the-job learning apprentissage informel maçonnerie transmission des compétences apprentissage sur le tas, On-the-job learning apprentissage informel, maçonnerie, transmission des compétences, apprentissage sur le tas, apprentissage informel, apprentissage sur le tas. |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04749038 |
| By: | Gerson Javier Pérez-Valbuena; Diana Ricciulli-Marín; Jaime Bonet-Morón; Gisell Katerine Barrios-Pacheco |
| Abstract: | La política fiscal en América Latina ha jugado un papel clave en la recuperación de la sostenibilidad fiscal y la calidad de vida de la población. El objetivo de este artículo es realizar un análisis descriptivo de la posición fiscal de la región y su vínculo con indicadores económicos y sociales. Los resultados revelan una alta prevalencia de los impuestos indirectos, especialmente el impuesto a las ventas y el impuesto al valor agregado (IVA). También se observa que el uso de los instrumentos de recaudación continúa siendo limitado e ineficiente en su capacidad para mejorar el bienestar de la población. A pesar de los avances en la búsqueda de una sostenibilidad macro-fiscal, orientada a ofrecer un mayor bienestar a la población, los sistemas tributarios aún están lejos de cumplir cabalmente sus objetivos de equidad y eficiencia. Algunas de las hipótesis que menciona la literatura como los factores determinantes de estos desalentadores resultados son la presencia de la economía informal, la evasión y la baja calidad del gasto. **** ABSTRACT: Fiscal policy in Latin America has played a key role in the recovery of fiscal sustainability and the enhancement of the population’s quality of life. The objective of this article is to conduct a descriptive analysis of the fiscal position of the region and its link with economic and social indicators. The results reveal a high prevalence of indirect taxes, especially sales tax and value-added tax (VAT). It also highlights the still limited and inefficient use of revenue collection instruments in their aim to improve the population's well-being. Despite the progress made in the search for macro-fiscal sustainability, aimed at offering greater wellbeing to the population, tax systems are still far from meeting their objectives of equity and efficiency. Some of the hypotheses mentioned in the literature as the determining factors of these discouraging results are the presence of informality, evasion, and low quality of spending. |
| Keywords: | finanzas públicas, institucionalidad, América Latina, public finances, institutionality, Latin America |
| JEL: | H1 H30 O54 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:region:330 |