Work

Measuring the Participation of Irregular Migrants in the Informal Economy

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The systematic study of irregular migrants' participation in the informal economy is beset by conceptual and methodological issues within the two research domains: economic informality and migrant irregularity. Both phenomena are characterized by competing definitions and statistical measurement challenges, making it even more difficult to accurately assess their intersection. This briefing summarises an approach that addresses the ambiguities and challenges in question. The approach relies on a conceptual framework that differentiates between the informal (formal) economy, unregistered (registered) firms, and irregular (regular) migration. The methodology uses nationally representative survey data to estimate size ranges of irregular migrant worker populations. The flexibility of the method is illustrated by applying it to Turkey and the United Kingdom, using the Turkish Household Labour Force Survey and the UK Labour Force Survey.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14808999

Authors: Salihoğlu, Aslı, Vargas Silva, Carlos

Institution: University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Taxation and Compliance Studies

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

Funders: UK Research and Innovation, European Commission, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council