What is to be done about the paid informal sector in the European union? A review of some policy options

Abstract

Despite an increasing accumulation of knowledge on the nature and extent of the paid informal sector in the European Union, there has so far been little if any attempt to feed this into policy formulation on what can and should be done about this sector. In the light of a review of the social and spatial distribution of the paid informal sector, this paper presents three principal policy approaches towards paid informal work and explores some of the implications of pursuing them for social exclusion in the EU. Examining the possible policy approaches of eradication, deregulation and restructuring, this paper asserts that if social exclusion and poverty are not to be exacerbated, only the latter approach is viable. The consequences of such a finding are explored.