Evaluating the prevalence of the undeclared economy in Central and Eastern Europe: An institutional asymmetry perspective

Abstract

This paper explains the undeclared economy in general, and envelope wages more particularly, from an institutional perspective as resulting from the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of the formal institutions and the unwritten socially shared rules of informal institutions. Reporting a 2013 Eurobarometer survey of the prevalence of envelope wages across 10 Central and East European countries, a strong association is revealed between the prevalence of envelope wage payments and the degree of asymmetry of formal and informal institutions at both the individual-and country-level. The paper then explores the implications for theorising and tackling undeclared work practices.

Rethinking informal payments by patients in Europe: An institutional approach

“…Until now, institutional theory [14,15] has been widely applied in health services research and related fields to evaluate for example the adoption of health information technology [16][17][18], healthcare reform policies in public systems [19], patientcentred preventive care [20] and healthcare expenditure [21]. In this paper, and drawing inspiration from the application of institutional theory to the study of informal economic practices beyond healthcare [22,23], we here for the first time analyse informal payments to patients through the lens of institutional theory.…”

“…underfunding in the face of growing healthcare needs and expectations; explanations based on economic behaviour) conditions [11,[24][25][26]. On the other hand, however, and reflecting the advances in institutional theory when studying other informal practices [22,23], it can be argued that institutions are "the rules of the game" which prescribe what is socially acceptable, and thus both constrain and encourage different types of activity [15]. In all societies, there are not only formal institutions (i.e., codified laws and regulations) that lay out the legal rules of the game, but also informal institutions which are the "socially shared rules, usually unwritten, that are created, communicated and enforced outside of officially sanctioned channels" [27, p.727].…”

Consumer Propensity to Adopt Illicit Goods: Theory, Methods, and Results

“…Envelope payments, sometimes known cash wages, to workers contributes to the illicit flow of money [18]. Illicit goods such as marijuana, sex services, and alcohol can be legal in some countries, even regions within countries, and illegal in others.…”

Business Registration and Firm Performance: Some Lessons From India

“…However, if formal and informal institutions are not aligned, informal entrepreneurship becomes rife (De Castro et al, 2014;Kistruck et al, 2015;Siqueira et al, 2014;Vu, 2014;Webb et al, 2013Webb et al, , 2014. As such, the greater the nonalignment of formal and informal institutions, the greater is the prevalence of informal entrepreneurship (Williams and Horodnic, 2015;.…”