Entrepreneurship in the informal economy: a product of too much or too little state intervention?

Over the past decade or so, two competing theoretical perspectives have arisen that explain participation in informal entrepreneurship as resulting from either too little or too much state intervention. To evaluate these competing explanations critically, the authors report on a 2012 UK survey of 595 small business owners. Twenty per cent of these owners said that they had traded informally when starting up their ventures, and the authors examine and evaluate their reasons for doing so. It was found that 41% of the entrepreneurs attributed their off-the-books trading to too little state intervention (for example, a lack of government advice and support), 35% to too much intervention (burdensome red tape, high taxes, etc) and 24% to a mix of both factors. However, a multivariate analysis displays significant socio-demographic, firm-level and regional variations in the reasons. The outcome is a call to move towards more nuanced context-bound explanations of entrepreneurship in the informal economy

Work orientations, well-being and job content of self-employed and employed professionals

Drawing on psychology-derived theories and methods, a questionnaire survey compared principal kinds of work orientation, job content and mental well-being between self-employed and organisationally employed professional workers. Self-employment was found to be particularly associated with energised well-being in the form of job engagement. The presence in self-employment of greater challenge, such as an enhanced requirement for personal innovation, accounted statistically for self-employed professionals’ greater job engagement, and self-employed professionals more strongly valued personal challenge than did professionals employed in an organisation. However, no between-role differences occurred in respect of supportive job features such as having a comfortable workplace. Differences in well-being, job content and work orientations were found primarily in comparison between self-employees and organisational non-managers. The study emphasises the need to distinguish conceptually and empirically between different forms of work orientation, job content and well-being, and points to the value of incorporating psychological thinking in some sociological research

Explaining cross-national variations in the commonality of informal sector entrepreneurship: an exploratory analysis of 38 emerging economies

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the contrasting explanations for the cross-national variations in the commonality of informal sector entrepreneurship. These variously view such work as: a result of economic underdevelopment (modernization thesis); driven by high taxes, corruption and state interference which lead them to exit the formal economy (neoliberal thesis), or a product of inadequate state intervention to protect workers from poverty (political economy thesis). Analyzing International Labour Organization data on the proportion of the non-agricultural workforce engaged in informal sector entrepreneurship in 38 emerging economies, and data on the economic and social conditions deemed important in each explanation, a tentative call is made to reject the neoliberal explanation and to synthesize the modernization and political economy perspectives. The outcome is a new ‘neo-modernization’ explanation that associates greater levels of informal sector entrepreneurship with economic underdevelopment and inadequate state intervention to protect workers from poverty. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications

Automation, Algorithms, and Beyond: Why Work Design Matters More Than Ever in a Digital World

We propose a central role for work design in understanding the effects of digital technologies. We give examples of how new technologies can—depending on various factors—positively and negatively affect job resources (autonomy/control, skill use, job feedback, relational aspects) and job demands (e.g., performance monitoring), with consequences for employee well-being, safety, and performance. We identify four intervention strategies. First, work design choices need to be proactively considered during technology implementation, consistent with the sociotechnical systems principle of joint optimization. Second, human-centred design principles should be explicitly considered in the design and procurement of new technologies. Third, organizationally oriented intervention strategies need to be supported by macro-level policies. Fourth, there is a need to go beyond a focus on upskilling employees to help them adapt to technology change, to also focus on training employees, as well as other stakeholders, in work design and related topics. Finally, we identify directions for moving the field forward, including new research questions (e.g., job autonomy in the context of machine learning; understanding designers’ work design mindsets; investigating how job crafting applies to technology); a reorientation of methods (e.g., interdisciplinary, intervention studies); and steps for achieving practical impact

Mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

The genetic make-up of an individual contributes to the susceptibility and response to viral infection. Although environmental, clinical and social factors have a role in the chance of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of COVID-191,2, host genetics may also be important. Identifying host-specific genetic factors may reveal biological mechanisms of therapeutic relevance and clarify causal relationships of modifiable environmental risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and outcomes. We formed a global network of researchers to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity. Here we describe the results of three genome-wide association meta-analyses that consist of up to 49,562 patients with COVID-19 from 46 studies across 19 countries. We report 13 genome-wide significant loci that are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection or severe manifestations of COVID-19. Several of these loci correspond to previously documented associations to lung or autoimmune and inflammatory diseases3–7. They also represent potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection. Mendelian randomization analyses support a causal role for smoking and body-mass index for severe COVID-19 although not for type II diabetes. The identification of novel host genetic factors associated with COVID-19 was made possible by the community of human genetics researchers coming together to prioritize the sharing of data, results, resources and analytical frameworks. This working model of international collaboration underscores what is possible for future genetic discoveries in emerging pandemics, or indeed for any complex human disease

HIV testing history and access to treatment among migrants living with HIV in Europe

Introduction: Migrants are overrepresented in the European HIV epidemic. We aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators to HIV testing and current treatment and healthcare needs of migrants living with HIV in Europe. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 57 HIV clinics in nine countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom), July 2013 to July 2015. HIV-positive patients were eligible for inclusion if they were as follows: 18 years or older; foreign-born residents and diagnosed within five years of recruitment. Questionnaires were completed electronically in one of 15 languages and linked to clinical records. Primary outcomes were access to primary care and previous negative HIV test. Data were analysed using random effects logistic regression. Outcomes of interest are presented for women, heterosexual men and gay/bisexual men. Results: A total of 2093 respondents (658 women, 446 heterosexual men and 989 gay/bisexual men) were included. The prevalence of a previous negative HIV test was 46.7%, 43.4% and 82.0% for women, heterosexual and gay/bisexual men respectively. In multivariable analysis previous testing was positively associated with: receipt of post-migration antenatal care among women, permanent residency among heterosexual men and identifying as gay rather than bisexual among gay/bisexual men. Access to primary care was found to be high (>83%) in all groups and was strongly associated with country of residence. Late diagnosis was common for women and heterosexual men (60.8% and 67.1%, respectively) despite utilization of health services prior to diagnosis. Across all groups almost three-quarters of people on antiretrovirals had an HIV viral load <50 copies/mL. Conclusions: Migrants access healthcare in Europe and while many migrants had previously tested for HIV, that they went on to test positive at a later date suggests that opportunities for HIV prevention are being missed. Expansion of testing beyond sexual health and antenatal settings is still required and testing opportunities should be linked with combination prevention measures such as access to PrEP and treatment as prevention. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of the International AIDS Society published by John Wiley & sons Ltd on behalf of the International AIDS Society

High levels of postmigration HIV acquisition within nine European countries

Objective: We aimed to estimate the proportion of postmigration HIV acquisition among HIV-positive migrants in Europe. Design: To reach HIV-positive migrants, we designed a cross-sectional study performed in HIV clinics. Methods: The study was conducted from July 2013 to July 2015 in 57 clinics (nine European countries), targeting individuals over 18 years diagnosed in the preceding 5 years and born abroad. Electronic questionnaires supplemented with clinical data were completed in any of 15 languages. Postmigration HIV acquisition was estimated through Bayesian approaches combining extensive information on migration and patients' characteristics. CD4+ cell counts and HIV-RNA trajectories from seroconversion were estimated by bivariate linear mixed models fitted to natural history data. Postmigration acquisition risk factors were investigated with weighted logistic regression. Results: Of 2009 participants, 46% were MSM and a third originated from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America & Caribbean, respectively. Median time in host countries was 8 years. Postmigration HIV acquisition was 63% (95% confidence interval: 57-67%); 72% among MSM, 58 and 51% in heterosexual men and women, respectively. Postmigration HIV acquisition was 71% for Latin America and Caribbean migrants and 45% for people from sub-Saharan Africa. Factors associated with postmigration HIV acquisition among heterosexual women and MSM were age at migration, length of stay in host country and HIV diagnosis year and among heterosexual men, length of stay in host country and HIV diagnosis year. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of HIV-positive migrants living in Europe acquired HIV postmigration. This has important implications for European public health policies. Copyright © 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved