Funded Research
Collaborative Research: A National Survey of Informal Work
Source: NSF
Active: 9/15/2007 - 8/31/2010
Investigator(s):
Leif Jensen
Timothy Slack (Louisiana State University)
Ann Tickamyer (Ohio University)
The informal economy consists of work activities that generate household income or reduce expenditures that operate outside the scope of state regulation in contexts where these activities otherwise would be regulated. Orthodox modernization theory holds that the informal economy should decline with economic development, yet evidence suggests it remains a key feature of economic life in advanced societies. This study will conduct the first nationally representative household survey of informal work in the United States.
The overarching objective of this study is to provide an empirical examination of the contours and correlates of informal work at the national level. It explores seven basic research questions: How prevalent is informal work in the United States? How does the prevalence of informal work vary spatially (for example, across the rural-urban continuum)? What is the relationship between household labor supply in the formal economy (both in terms of quantity and quality) and participation in informal work? What is the relationship between poverty, income, and participation in informal work? What is the relationship between social capital (for example, the strength of a household's social networks) and participation in informal work? What is the relationship between standard correlates of formal labor market stratification (for example, family size, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment) and participation in informal work? What is the relationship between industrial restructuring in the formal economy and participation in informal work?
