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IZA/World Bank Workshop: Institutions and Informal Employment in Emerging and Transition Economies

Organizers: Hartmut Lehmann (University of Bologna), Alexander Muravyev (IZA), Johannes Koettl (World Bank), Jan Rutkowski (World Bank)
Location:IZA, Bonn
Date:June 09, 2011 - June 11, 2011

Event Manager:

Stephan Kohzer (IZA)


Program

+++ presentation: 40 minutes +++ discussant: 10 minutes +++ general discussion: 10 minutes +++

Thursday, June 09:

09:00 - 09:15   Opening of the Workshop by
Klaus F. Zimmermann
(Director of IZA) and the Organizers
 
        Session A: Informal Employment in Russia
  Chair: Jan Rutkowski (World Bank)
 
09:15 - 10:15   Fabian Slonimczyk (Higher School of Economics, Moscow)
  "The Effect of Taxation on Informal Employment: Evidence from the Russian Flat Tax Reform"
  Discussant: Alexander Muravyev (IZA)
 
10:15 - 11:15   Anzelika Zaiceva (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Hartmut Lehmann (University of Bologna and IZA), Tiziano Razzolini (University of Siena)
  "Job Separations and Informal Employment"
  Discussant: Alexander Muravyev (IZA)
 
11:15 - 11:30   Coffee Break
 
        Session B: Informal Workers and the Persistence of Informal Employment
  Chair: Johannes Koettl (World Bank)
 
11:30 - 12:30   Mihails Hazans (University of Latvia)
  "Informal Workers across Europe: Evidence from 30 European Countries"
  Discussant: Indhira Santos (World Bank)
 
12:30 - 13:30   Melanie Khamis (IZA), Alpaslan Akay (IZA)
  "The Persistence of Informality: Evidence from Panel Data"
  Discussant: Konstantinos Tatsiramos (IZA)
 
13:30 - 14:30   Lunch
 
 
        Session C: Policy Corner - Reporting on World Bank Research on Informality
  Chair: Werner Eichhorst (IZA)
 
14:30 - 15:30   Jan Rutkowski (World Bank)
  "Promoting Formal Employment in Kazakhstan"
 
15:30 - 16:30   Jesko Hentschel (World Bank), Johannes Koettl (World Bank and IZA)
  "In from the Shadow: Informal Employment in the New Member States"
 
16:30 - 17:00   Coffee Break
 
17:00 - 19:15   Informal Meetings of Participants involved in Joint Research Projects
 
19:30       Dinner at Restaurant "Im Stiefel", Bonn
 

Friday, June 10:

        Session D: Modeling Informality in a Development Context
  Chair: Anzelika Zaiceva (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia)
 
09:00 - 10:00   John Bennett (Brunel University), Matthew Rablen (Brunel University)
  "Self-Employment, Wage Employment and Informality in a Developing Economy"
  Discussant: Nancy H. Chau (Cornell University)
 
10:00 - 11:00   Franck Malherbet (University of Rouen), Charlot Olivier (THEMA - Université de Cergy-Pontoise and CIRPEE), Terra Cristina (THEMA - Université de Cergy-Pontoise, Fundaçao Getulio Vargas and CEPII)
  "Product Market Regulation, Firm Size, Unemployment and Informality in Developing Economies"
  Discussant: John Bennett (Brunel University)
 
11:00 - 11:15   Coffee Break
 
        Session E: Informal Pay
  Chair: Alexander Muravyev (IZA)
 
11:15 - 12:15   Peter Elek (Eötvös Lorand University), Janos Kollo (Institute of Economics, Budapest and IZA), Balazs Reizer (Central European University), Peter A. Szabo (Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe)
  "An Attempt to Identify Grey Employment - Estimation of Wage Under-reporting and Tests of the Predictions"
  Discussant: Tiziano Razzolini (University of Siena)
 
12:15 - 13:15   Klara Sabirianova Peter (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Tetyana Zelenka (Georgia State University)
  "The Price of the Hippocratic Oath: Determinants of Bribery in Russian Health Care"
  Discussant: János Köllő (Hungarian Academy of Sciences)
 
13:15 - 14:00   Lunch
 
14:00 - 15:00   Invited Lecture

Chair: Hartmut Lehmann (University of Bologna and IZA)
 
        Friedrich Schneider (University of Linz)
  "The Shadow Economy and Shadow Economy Labor Force: What do we (not) know?"
 
        Session F: Factors Driving Informal Employment and Informality in Brazil
  Chair: John Bennett (Brunel University)
 
15:00 - 16:00   Erik Jonasson (Lund University)
  "Government Effectiveness and Regional Variation in Informal Employment"
  Discussant: Martin Guzi (IZA)
 
16:00 - 17:00   Tommaso Gabrieli (University of Reading), Antonio F. Galvao Jr. (University of Iwoa), Gabriel V. Montes-Rojas (City University London)
  "Who benefits from Reducing the Cost of Formality? Quantile Regression Discontinuity Analysis"
  Discussant: Tiziano Razzolini (University of Siena)
 
20:00       Dinner at Restaurant "Strandhaus", Bonn
 

Saturday, June 11:

        Session G: Informal and Formal Firms
  Chair: Klara Sabirianova Peter (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
 
09:00 - 10:00   Janneke Pieters (University of Groningen), Ana I. Moreno-Monroy (University of Groningen), Abdul A. Erumban (University of Groningen)
  "Formal-informal Production Linkages and Informal Sector Heterogeneity: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing"
  Discussant: Fabian Slonimczyk (Higher School of Economics, Moscow)
 
10:00 - 11:00   Arnab K. Basu (College of William and Mary), Nancy H. Chau (Cornell University), Ravi Kanbur (Cornell University)
  "Contractual Dualism, Market Power and Informality"
  Discussant: Melanie Khamis (IZA)
 
11:00 - 11:15   Coffee Break
 
        Session H: Institutions and Informal Employment in Europe
  Chair: Friedrich Schneider (University of Linz)
 
11:15 - 12:15   Johannes Koettl (World Bank), Michael Weber (World Bank)
  "Does Formal Work Pay? The role of labor taxation and social benefit design in providing disincentives for formal work"
  Discussant: Hartmut Lehmann (University of Bologna)
 
12:15 - 13:15   Niels-Hugo Blunch (Washington and Lee University)
  "The Financial Crisis and the Formal-Informal Sector Earnings Gap: Evidence from Serbia Using Four Alternative Measures of Informality"
  Discussant: Johannes Koettl (World Bank)
 
13:15       Lunch
 




List of Participants

Arnab Basu (College of William and Mary and IZA)
John Bennett (Brunel University and IZA)
Niels-Hugo Blunch (Washington and Lee University and IZA)
Nancy Chau (Cornell University and IZA)
Werner Eichhorst (IZA)
Peter Elek (Eötvös Lorand University)
Tommaso Gabrieli (University of Reading)
Martin Guzi (IZA)
Mihails Hazans (University of Latvia and IZA)
Jesko Hentschel (World Bank)
Erik Jonasson (Lund University)
Melanie Khamis (IZA)
Johannes Koettl (World Bank and IZA)
Janos Köllö (Hungarian Academy of Sciences and IZA)
Hartmut Lehmann (University of Bologna and IZA)
Frank Malherbet (University of Rouen and IZA)
Alexander Muravyev (IZA)
Anna Olefir (World Bank, Ukraine)
Isil Oral (World Bank, Europe and Central Asia Region)
Klara Peter Sabirianova (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and IZA)
Indhira Santos (World Bank)
Janneke Pieters (University of Groningen)
Tiziano Razzolini (University of Siena)
Jan Rutkowski (World Bank and IZA)
Friedrich Schneider (University of Linz and IZA)
Fabian Slonimczyk (Higher School of Economics, Moscow)
Konstantinos Tatsiramos (IZA)
Michael Weber (World Bank)
Anzelika Zaiceva (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and IZA)
Klaus F. Zimmermann (IZA and University of Bonn)