Cash-in-Hand Work: The Underground Sector and the Hidden Economy of Favours

250 Pages·2004·0.76 MB·English

by  Colin C. Williams

Cash-in-Hand Work
The Underground Sector and
The Hidden Economy of Favours
Colin C. Williams
Cash-in-Hand Work
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Cash-in-Hand Work
The Underground Sector and
The Hidden Economy of Favours
Colin C. Williams
University of Leicester
© Colin Williams 2004
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Williams,Colin C.,1961–
Cash-in-hand work:the underground sector and the hidden economy
of favours / Colin C.Williams.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–4039–2172–5 (cloth)
1.Informal sector (Economics) – Evaluation.2.Cash transactions.
3.Social exchange.4.Social capital (Sociology) 5.Informal sector
(Economics) – Government policy.I.Title:The underground sector
and the hidden economy of favours.II.Title:Hidden economy
of favours.III.Title.
HD2340.8.W55 2004
330—dc22 2004046491
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd,Chippenham and Eastbourne
This book is dedicated to Jan and Toby
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Tables viii
Acknowledgements x
1 Introduction 1
Part I Examining Cash-in-hand Work:
Theory and Methods 13
2 Theorising Cash-in-hand Work 15
3 Methodologies for Measuring Cash-in-hand Work 40
Part II Socio-spatial Variations in the Nature
of Cash-in-hand Work 63
4 Employment Status and Cash-in-hand Work 65
5 Gender Variations in Cash-in-hand Work 84
6 Geographical Variations in Cash-in-hand Work 106
Part III Evaluating the Implications of
the Policy Options 131
7 Deterring Cash-in-hand Work 133
8 A Laissez-FaireApproach 161
9 Harnessing Cash-in-hand Work 177
10 Conclusions 198
References 207
Index 230
vii
List of Tables
1.1 Adjectives and nouns used to denote cash-in-hand work 3
2.1 Character of suppliers of cash-in-hand work in
English localities 28
2.2 Motives of purchasers of cash-in-hand work in
English localities 29
2.3 Motives of suppliers of cash-in-hand work in
English localities 32
3.1 List of tasks investigated in the English Localities Survey 58
3.2 Overview of areas studied in the English Localities Survey 60
4.1 Proportion of cash-in-hand work conducted by the
employed and non-employed in England 70
4.2 Wage rates for cash-in-hand work in Quebec region:
by employment status, 1993 and 1985 75
4.3 Mean wage rate for cash-in-hand work in England:
by employment status of individuals and households 75
4.4 Types of cash-in-hand work of the registered unemployed
and employed in English areas: by nature of customer 76
4.5 Reasons for engaging in cash-in-hand work in English
localities: by employment status 78
4.6 Motives of employers when using unemployed and
employed cash-in-hand workers 80
5.1 Cash-in-hand wage rates in three regions of Canada:
by gender, 1993 87
5.2 Relationship between gender divisions of cash-in-hand
work and unpaid domestic work in England: by task 90
5.3 Average hourly wage rates in second-jobs, Germany 95
5.4 Motives of suppliers of cash-in-hand work in English
localities: by gender 97
5.5 Motives of purchasers of cash-in-hand work in English
localities: by gender 99
6.1 Estimates of the magnitude of cash-in-hand work obtained
through indirect methods 108
6.2 Percentage of everyday tasks undertaken using
cash-in-hand work in England: by locality-type 111
6.3 Participation in cash-in-hand work in England: by area 112
6.4 Suppliers of cash-in-hand labour in lower- and higher-income English
neighbourhoods: by socio-economic status 113
6.5 Character of suppliers of cash-in-hand work in England:
by area-type 116
6.6 Motives for employing cash-in-hand workers in England:
by type of area 117
6.7 Motives of suppliers of cash-in-hand work in
English localities 123
viii
List of Tables ix
6.8 Spatial variations in the extent of participation in formal and
informal community involvement: by Index of Deprivation 125
6.9 Regional variations in the extent of formal and informal
community involvement, in the United Kingdom 127
7.1 Benefit overpayments due to fraudulent failure to declare
earnings 144
7.2 Labour force participation rates, 1960, 1973 and 1999 149
7.3 Expenditure on social protection as a percentage of GDP in
European Union nations, 1993 and 1998 152
8.1 The polarisation of employment between households,
OECD Nations, 1983–94 172
9.1 The 12 steps to formalisation of cash-in-hand work of Street (UK) 186