Marginalisation and participation in the informal economy in Central and Eastern European nations

To evaluate the ‘marginalisation thesis’, which holds that marginalised populations are more likely to participate in the informal economy, this article reports a 2013 special Eurobarometer survey conducted in 11 Central and Eastern European countries. Using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis, the finding is that although some marginalised populations (i.e. the unemployed, those having difficulties paying their household bills, younger age groups) are significantly more likely to participate in the informal economy, others are not (e.g. those in poorer countries, living in rural areas, with less formal education). Yet others (e.g. women) are significantly less likely to participate in the informal economy. The outcome is a call for a more nuanced understanding of the marginalisation thesis as valid for some marginalised populations but not others. The article concludes by discussing the implications for theory and policy of this more variegated assessment of the marginalisation thesis.