Theoretical and Applied Economics
No. 4 / 2024 (641), Winter
The hidden economy revealed: profiling informal workers through random forest classification
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Adriana AnaMaria DAVIDESCU
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection Bucharest, Romania
Eduard Mihai MANTA
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Diana Marina AGAFITEI
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Abstract. The phenomenon of informality, in all three of its forms: envelope wages, dependent workers, and workers without formal contracts, represents a complex aspect of the modern economy, having significant impact on regional development and society. The main objective of this study is to understand this phenomenon in both microeconomic and macroeconomic contexts, exploring the interactions between individual and structural factors that influence the evolution and scale of the informal economy across different regions. While the classical approach typically involves multilevel models to analyse such data, this study employs the Random Forest method due to its ability to handle data complexity and variability efficiently and robustly. The profile of informal workers, regardless of their employment form (no formal contract, envelope wages, or dependent workers), reveals both common traits and notable differences. While all share low fiscal morality, extended social networks, and a general distrust of authorities, they differ significantly in terms of company size, demographics, and political inclination, highlighting the complexity and diversity of informal labour and the need for tailored approaches to address these workers.
Keywords: Random Forest, informality, envelope wages, dependent workers, workers without formal contracts.
Contents
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a regional perspective on their interaction
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Andreea-Monica MUNTEANU
- Assessing the macroeconomic challenges in Romania
after the economic and financial crisis
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- Green finance and innovation input: the promoters of carbon neutrality in China
Song GAO
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Adelina DUMITRESCU PECULEA
- A simple model of online marketing,
production, profit and growth
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Labani Roy CHAKRABORTY
Alapan SANYAL
- The relationship of digital payments,
macroeconomic variables, and banking stability
in developing Asia
Meidiana AZZAHRAH
Ariodillah HIDAYAT
Liliana LILIANA
- Modelling the relationship between inflation
and uncertainty with existence of structural break:
evidence from Azerbaijan
Vugar RAHIMOV
- Analysis of the global energy resources evolution
in the context of the population growth
Mădălina-Gabriela ANGHEL
Ștefan Virgil IACOB
- Assessing the impact of energy and macroeconomic
shocks on the Romanian economy:
a Bayesian VAR approach
Alexandru George NEACȘU
Andrei Costin NEACȘU
Georgiana PLEȘA
Georgian Dănuț MIHAI
- Two faces of the same coin: integrated perspectives
of public and private debt on the effects
of interdependence on financial stability
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- Institutional quality and sustainability:
empirical study in 11 MENA countries
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Abderrahim CHIBI
Sidi Mohamed CHEKOURI
- Workplace economics – How does the Impostor Syndrome
affect organisational output?
Raluca Iuliana GEORGESCU
Dumitru Alexandru BODISLAV
Ionuț-Valeriu ANDREI
Alexandru COȘOCARIU
- COVID-19 and the labour market:
regional shifts of human capital working
in technology and employment
Teodora-Cătălina DUMITRA
Anamaria Beatrice ALDEA
- Validity of the environmental Kuznets Curve in Bangladesh
under the role of financial development
Omor FARUQ
Sanaullah TALUKDER
Evanta Hashem KATHA
Mashrura Kabir SHAEBA
- The impact of doing business indicators
on economic growth in emerging market economies:
a cross-sectional analysis
Komal CHHIKARA
- The dispersion of poverty
in some Romanian rural areas – good examples
of rural localities with the lowest poverty rates
Cristina STROE
- The stability and Growth Pact in Practice:
inefficiencies of previous debt rules and the way forward
Ionuț JIANU
Maria-Daniela TUDORACHE
- Leaders in disguise: power, perception, and paradox –
economics and the fragile authority of politicians
Dumitru Alexandru BODISLAV
Raluca Iuliana GEORGESCU
- Investigating the corporate debt and real investment nexus:
dynamics and challenges in a shifting financial landscape
Bashir Ahmad JOO
Simtiha Ishaq MIR
- The hidden economy revealed: profiling informal workers
through random forest classification
Maria Cristina GEAMBASU
Adriana AnaMaria DAVIDESCU
Eduard Mihai MANTA
Diana Marina AGAFITEI
- The determinants of political instability:
the role of mining resources
Ahandi Vincent LOMPO
Achille Augustin DIENDERE
- Quantitative easing and its implications
for contingent convertible triggers:
an analytical perspective
Miruna-Mihaela VASILCA
Răzvan COTESCU
Alexandra CHEPTIȘ
Alin Ioan VID