scholarly journals Inflation and the Gig Economy: Have the Rise of Online Retailing and Self-Employment Disrupted the Phillips Curve?

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (1814) ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. Duca ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Phillips Curve ◽  
Online Retailing ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy

scholarly journals Solo Self-Employment and Alternative Work Arrangements: A Cross-Country Perspective on the Changing Composition of Jobs

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tito Boeri ◽  
Giulia Giupponi ◽  
Alan B. Krueger ◽  
Stephen Machin
Keyword(s):  
Social Insurance ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Alternative Work Arrangements ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Minimum Wage Legislation ◽  
Alternative Work ◽  
Dependent Employment ◽  
The Uk

The nature of self-employment is changing in most OECD countries. Solo self-employment is increasing relative to self-employment with dependent employees, often being associated with the development of gig economy work and alternative work arrangements. We still know little about this changing composition of jobs. Drawing on ad-hoc surveys run in the UK, US, and Italy, we document that solo self-employment is substantively different from self-employment with employees, being an intermediate status between employment and unemployment, and for some, becoming a new frontier of underemployment. Its spread originates a strong demand for social insurance which rarely meets an adequate supply given the informational asymmetries of these jobs. Enforcing minimum wage legislation on these jobs and reconsidering the preferential tax treatment offered to self-employment could discourage abuse of these positions to hide de facto dependent employment jobs. Improved measures of labor slack should be developed to acknowledge that, over and above unemployment, some of the solo self-employment and alternative work arrangements present in today’s labor market are placing downward pressure on wages.

Labour market statistics

2019 ◽  
pp. 199-212
Author(s):  
Paul Bivand
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Phillips Curve ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Data Use ◽  
International Labour Organisation ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Minimum Wage Legislation ◽  
Unemployment Data ◽  
New Forms Of Work ◽  
The Impact

The chapter begins by identifying the theoretical roots of labour market concepts, notably the Phillips Curve relating unemployment and inflation. It then presents the definitions of “employment” and “unemployment” developed by the International Labour Organisation. These are measured by the quarterly Labour Force Survey, which provides not just simple counts but also flows between these categories, here presented graphically. One problem is that localised unemployment data use different definitions from the national headline rate, but a larger problem is that in all measures individuals must be counted as either employed or unemployed, when increasing numbers of workers work fewer or more hours than they wish, sometimes on variable hours contracts or as insecure sub-contractors in the “gig economy”. These new forms of work, generally disadvantaged, make gathering reliable data harder, and the chapter ends by discussing earnings data, and measuring the impact of minimum wage legislation.

scholarly journals Solo Self-Employment, Human Capital and Hybrid Labour in the Gig Economy

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Bögenhold ◽  
◽  
Robert Klinglmair ◽  
Florian Kandutsch ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy

Harmonic Dissonance: Coping with Employment Precarity among Professional Musicians in St John’s, Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Chafe ◽  
Lisa Kaida
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Career Commitment ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Career Longevity ◽  
Employment Insecurity ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Employment Uncertainty

Precarious employment literature has addressed a myriad of occupations increasingly characterized by employment uncertainty and reduced commitment between workers and employers due to short-term contracts and self-employment, with particular attention given to creative industries and the gig economy in recent years. The authors argue that research on creative industries also requires consideration of the role of place in the experience of employment insecurity and career commitment. This article focuses on self-employed musicians in the mid-sized city of St John’s, Canada. Interviews with 54 musicians draw attention to coping strategies for long periods of low pay and employment insecurity. These strategies include downplaying competition and conflict, acquiring higher education and changing career. It is argued that population size and location of the community where work is based have implications on such coping strategies and on career longevity.

scholarly journals The rise of self-employment in the UK: entrepreneurial transmission or declining job quality?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Henley
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Income Volatility ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Intrinsic Job Satisfaction ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The UK has experienced very significant growth in self-employment since the financial crisis. The self-employed are at higher risk of income volatility while facing lower levels of social insurance. Individual transitions into self-employment may be driven by a range of factors, both ‘pull’ and ‘push’. This paper proposes a re-evaluation of the evidence on whether private sector business organizations stimulate entrepreneurial transmission amongst their employees. In the UK context rising self-employment may reflect the consequences of flexibilization and falling job quality, rather than outright job loss. Previous research has focused mainly on the subjective notion of job satisfaction to identify the level of attachment the future self-employed have to their current employer. Quantitative analysis is undertaken using large scale British longitudinal survey data. The paper extends this work to show that organizational (dis)attachment is evidenced in a range of extrinsic indicators of job quality, providing explanatory information beyond intrinsic job satisfaction. Specifically, the paper shows that the impact of training on self-employment entry depends asymmetrically on the source of that training. Finally, the paper argues that reduced attachment provides an alternative explanation for any ‘entrepreneurial transmission’ effect, through which employees, particularly those in smaller organizations, are more likely to enter self-employment. However, anticipated improvement in the experience of work from choosing self-employment is seen to be somewhat illusory, speaking to growing concerns about the impact of the growth of the gig economy.

scholarly journals Outsorcing of the Domestic Work in Russia: Precarious Employment in Substantive Economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-37
Author(s):  
V. Kvachev
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Market Theory ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Domestic Labour ◽  
Verbal Agreement ◽  
Labour Potential ◽  
Is Outsourcing

Domestic labour is a very important part of national economy today. Domestic labour is aimed on reproduction of the labour potential of workers by efforts of a household. Usually domestic labour is realized by members of a particular household. However, in up-to-date economy households usually outsource particular functions of domestic labour outside the household. The most widespread is outsourcing of the domestic labour in the spheres of food preparation, childcare and everyday household services. Domestic labour outsourcing produces the whole segment of labour market aimed at meeting this demand. Employment in this segment is usually precarious and leads to decreasing living standards and developing a considerable sector of shadow economy.The Object of the Study. Outsourcing of the domestic labour in Russia.The Subject of the Study. Practices and directions of domestic labour outsourcing in Russia.The Main Provisions of the Article. Domestic labour consists of work implemented in or for a household. Domestic labour presumes a whole spectrum of life-sustaining activities. Cardinal changes in global economy impel households to take decisions concerning outsource domestic labour. Domestic labour outsourcing in terms of labour market theory is a gig-economy. Gig-economy produces a sphere of employment where a customer and a work performer are connected throughout Internet platforms or apps. This type of employment is characterized either by full absence of contracts or by constrained terms of contracts; by disguised employment or fictitious self-employment; be precarious working conditions such as verbal agreement of remuneration and lack of access to social guarantees and to labour rights protection.

scholarly journals Contesting ‘bogus self-employment’ via legal mobilisation: The case of foster care workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-539
Author(s):  
Eleanor Kirk
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Foster Care Workers ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Strategic Litigation

The rise of the ‘gig’ economy has placed a spotlight on employment status, leading to challenges over the nature of working relationships and attendant rights from increasingly diverse groups. The predominant image of the struggle against ‘bogus self-employment’ features the mostly young, male riders and drivers engaged in platform work. This article examines the distinctive campaign of foster carers to be recognised as workers, focusing upon the emergence of the campaign and the imaginative solidarities forged with seemingly disparate groups of precarious workers. Drawing from interviews and observation, this article explores the tactics used in contesting ‘bogus’ self-employment, the achievements and challenges faced. The concept of legal mobilisation is used as lens, capturing the blend of strategic litigation, organising and legal enactment. This article concludes by considering how this solidaristic project might be further broadened to provide fully inclusive protections for all those who work for a wage.

scholarly journals The Study of Self-employment at SMEs Level with Reference to Poverty in Developing Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Nawaz Tunio ◽  
Aqeel Ahmed Soomro ◽  
Dieter Bogenhold
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Narrative Literature ◽  
Narrative Literature Review ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
Medium Enterprises

This study endeavors to answer the research question; how self-employment at Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) level is related to poverty in the developing countries. During these efforts, we used the narrative literature review, methodology, to study related research stream in this domain to develop a better understanding of the phenomenon. Moreover, in the process Peter Ducker and Noel’s theory of entrepreneurship and Israel Kirzner’s theory of entrepreneurship reviewed to develop theoretical foundations of our research. In this research, we come to the observation that self-employment at SMEs level, somehow helps in fighting poverty in the developing countries. In addition, interestingly Information and Communication Technology (ICT) role has been significant in the developing countries from the context of gig economy, where the firms might not be found in yellow pages, but yet they are part of the economic system against poverty (Subrahmany, 2005).  

Work in the age of collaborative platforms between innovation and tradition

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Delfino
Keyword(s):  
Digital Age ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Work Relationship

Starting from the Uber ruling of the Court of Justice of 20 December 2017 this paper tries to demonstrate how innovation in the gig economy or collaborative economy does not change the basic issues of labour law but rather requires a greater adaptation of these issues to the new digital context. The principal issue is the classification of the platform company’s providers, which follows the traditional distinction between self-employment and the dependent work relationship. At the root of that classification there are still ‘hetero-direction’ and the employer’s prerogatives, although they can assume a different and more complex physiognomy in the digital age.

The gig economy in the UK: a regional perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraint Johnes
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
High Population Density ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Regional Estimates ◽  
Service Sectors ◽  
The Uk

Purpose A quarterly series of gig economy activity in the regions of the UK is constructed. Patterns of regional linkages are identified and the implications of spatial patterns for policymakers, businesses, workers and institutions are highlighted. Design/methodology/approach The Labour Force Survey data on main job self-employment in key gig economy sectors are used to construct the series. These are then analysed using vector autoregression techniques to identify patterns in the data and provide provisional forecasts. Findings The incidence of gig economy activity is greatest in the London region, characterised by high population density and a concentration of service sectors in which gig economy work, particularly of a highly skilled nature, takes place. Growth of gig economy activity in other regions has been more modest. In London, the percentage of workers in the gig economy is expected to rise to around 6.5 per cent over the next few years, while in other regions, the percentage is expected to settle at between 3 and 4.5 per cent. Originality/value These are the first regional estimates to be provided of the extent of gig economy activity. This is important in the context of discussions about the future of work, not least because regional disparities imply the need for policies addressing insecurity to have a spatial dimension.

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