Publications on informal economy

  1. ILO Working paper 38

    Freelance platform work in the Russian Federation: 2009–2019

    26 July 2021

    This paper traces the development of freelance platform work in the Russian Federation based on unique data from four online surveys conducted over the period 2009 and 2019 via the leading platform for creative and knowledge-based work and analyses the working conditions and well-being of the workers.

  2. International Labour Review, Centenary Collection (2021), No. 1

    Introduction: The long discourse on informality as reflected in selected articles of the International Labour Review

    19 July 2021

    This article presents a Centenary Issue on Informality to mark the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Review (ILR). The issue brings together ten articles published in the ILR between 1975 and 2016 that are de­voted exclusively to the analysis of informality. This introduction begins with an analytical framework, considers the origins of the informality discourse and then discusses the articles in this Centenary Issue, locating them in the broader literature through illustrative rather than comprehensive referencing. It concludes by looking ahead to what the coming decades of analysis and pol­icy discourse may bring.

  3. Guidebook for policymakers, workers’ and employers’ organizations and other stakeholders

    Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: Lessons from international experience

    29 June 2021

    For most workers in the informal economy, the lack of social protection is a challenge not only in their daily struggles to make ends meet but in their aspirations to obtain decent work, rights and dignity. For the societies in which they live, the lack of social protection coverage weakens social justice and undermines inclusive growth and the realization of human rights.

  4. Training Policy Brief

    How to reduce undeclared work in the Republic of Croatia?

    23 June 2021

    Undeclared work is not a foreign phenomenon in the Republic of Croatia. Various reasons lead to its appearance. It has negative consequences for the entire community. On the one hand, employers face cases of unfair competition, workers suffer from insecurity in terms of social dimensions, while the state is deprived of a part of the income, the investment of which would bring numerous welcome benefits to society. Undeclared work leads to the creation of a practice of tax evasion, noncompliance with regulations governing labor relations, especially the protection of workers, which in this case is violated. Over time the question arises as what measures are sufficiently effective for combatting undeclared work.

  5. ILO Working Paper 33

    Preferential tax regimes for MSMEs: Operational aspects, impact evidence and policy implications

    17 June 2021

  6. ILO Working paper 32

    Digital Work in Eastern Europe: Overview of Trends, Outcomes, and Policy Responses

    25 May 2021

    This paper presents the emergence and growth of digital labour markets in Eastern Europe over the period 1999-2019. It presents the profiles of digital workers, their working conditions and discusses how these are shaped by the business models of digital labour platforms.

  7. Publication

    Youth employment in conflict and fragile settings (Elisa Selva and Federico Negro)

    07 May 2021

    Is the future ready for youth? Youth employment policies for evolving labour markets

  8. ILO News

    ILO Pasifika Update March 2021

    31 March 2021

    In this edition of the ILO Pacific Newsletter, you will find updates on events and other news highlights of ILO’s work in the Pacific from December 2020 to March 2021.

  9. ILO Working paper 27

    Platform work and the employment relationship

    31 March 2021

    This working paper analyses national and supranational case law and legislation about the employment status of platform workers. It does so by referring to the ILO Employment Relationship Recommendation, 2006 (No. 198). It finds that this Recommendation provides for a valuable compass to navigate the issues that emerge from the analysis of the existing case law and legislation about platform work.

  10. Book

    Is the future ready for youth?

    18 March 2021

    How do we ensure that the policymakers and the global community prioritize youth employment, so essential for sustainable development and social justice? This book brings together contributions from ILO with broad global experience in successful youth employment policies. They discuss the policies needed to address the challenge, in a time of rapid transformation, of achieving a better future for the youth.