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on Informal and Underground Economics |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the challenges faced by competition authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) when enforcing competition law in markets affected by informality. Informal markets represent a significant share of economic activity in the region and may influence competitive dynamics both where informal firms compete with formal firms and where competition occurs within informal markets. The paper focusses on competition enforcement issues related to informality including the definition of relevant markets, the investigation of informal firms and the calculation of fines. Although informality can create substantial evidentiary and procedural difficulties, the paper identifies opportunities for competition authorities to mitigate those challenges, including the use of official datasets, market studies and institutional co-operation with organisations addressing informality. The paper argues that competition authorities in LAC should be mindful of informal markets when enforcing competition law, and can apply proportionate, pragmatic and targeted enforcement to address competitive harm involving informal markets, while supporting better market functioning and the transition towards formality. |
| Keywords: | competition law enforcement, informal economy, informal markets, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) |
| JEL: | K21 K42 L40 L41 |
| Date: | 2026–09–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:dafaac:337-en |
| By: | Akinpelu, Simeon Funminiyi; Ese, Igbinosun Friday |
| Abstract: | This study examined the taxation of the digital economy in Nigeria through a conceptual review, focusing on challenges, prospects, and policy implications of taxing digital activities including e-commerce, fintech, streaming services, online advertising, and social media commerce. The purpose was to critically analyse how Nigeria’s legal and regulatory frameworks, administrative capacities, and technological tools interact to facilitate revenue mobilisation from digital economic activities. A qualitative conceptual research design was employed, relying entirely on secondary data from academic journals, government reports, Finance Acts, and international frameworks, with data analysed through content and thematic analysis and supported by descriptive statistics from government and global sources. Findings revealed that while Nigeria’s digital economy has expanded rapidly, compliance with tax obligations remains moderate, with informal platforms and cross border transactions limiting effective revenue collection. Legal recognition of significant economic presence is crucial for capturing digital taxes, yet enforcement gaps and limited technological monitoring hinder compliance, with fintech platforms integrated into formal banking systems showing higher adherence than informal social media commerce. The study contributes a structured conceptual framework linking digital activities, regulatory clarity, administrative enforcement, and revenue outcomes, while identifying critical policy and practical gaps. The findings imply that improving technological monitoring, strengthening legal frameworks, and enhancing stakeholder engagement are essential for increasing compliance, offering insights for policymakers and laying the foundation for future research on sustainable digital taxation strategies in Nigeria. |
| Date: | 2026–08–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:c2ga9_v1 |
| By: | Edgar J. Sánchez-Carrera; Elvio Accinelli; Humberto Muñiz |
| Abstract: | Tourism is often promoted as a route to local development, yet many destinations combine persistent visitor flows with poverty, informality, insecurity, and weak local spillovers. This paper develops a coordination model to explain that paradox. Governments choose between public investment and extraction, residents between formal and informal participation, and tourists between local engagement and enclave consumption. Tourism-led growth emerges only when these choices are mutually reinforcing. Otherwise, individually rational responses can stabilize a low-development regime in which institutions remain weak, residents stay informal, and visitor spending bypasses local supply chains. The static game admits both a low-development equilibrium and a high-development equilibrium. Embedding the model in replicator dynamics shows how thresholds, initial conditions, and coordinated reforms shape transitions between traps and more inclusive regimes. The paper contributes a mechanism-based framework for understanding why tourism can be economically central and yet fail to generate broad-based local development. |
| Keywords: | Tourism-led growth; poverty traps; coordination failure; informality; enclave tourism; evolutionary game theory. |
| JEL: | C72 C73 O17 O43 R11 Z32 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2026_19.rdf |
| By: | Karl Robert L. Jandoc (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman); Arturo Jr. Martinez (Asian Development Bank); Joseph Albert Niño Bulan (Asian Development Bank); Rhea Molato (Asian Development Bank); Aileen Guyos (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | Non-traditional platform work has grown rapidly in the Philippines amid technological change and longstanding labor-market constraints. Using nationally representative data from the 2025 Jobs and Skills Survey (JSS), this study provides a detailed profile of workers engaged in these emerging forms of employment. The JSS captures worker characteristics, motivations, task content, digital engagement, job quality, social protection access, and workplace conditions. Results show that platform workers are disproportionately young, urban, and highly educated, with strong geographic concentration in NCR and major urban corridors. Motivations reveal a coexistence of opportunity and vulnerability: flexibility and autonomy attract many workers—especially women and home-based freelancers—while drivers and delivery workers often enter due to limited job alternatives. Platform work exhibits lower Routine Task Intensity and strong digital complementarity but also substantial overskilling, indicating persistent skill underutilization. Despite high job satisfaction, platform workers—particularly those in delivery, driving, and outside-home services—face significantly lower access to employer-provided pension, health insurance, and separation benefits, even after controlling for worker and firm characteristics. These findings underscore the heterogeneity of non-traditional work and highlight the need for balanced policy responses that expand worker protection without constraining the flexibility and innovation that make these jobs attractive for many Filipinos. |
| Keywords: | platform work; non-traditional employment; skills; tasks; employment benefits; digital technology; Philippines |
| JEL: | J22 J24 J46 J81 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:202602 |