Employer perspectives on undeclared work in the service sector : impacts and policy responses

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact on service sector businesses of competitors’ undeclared work practices and the policy measures service enterprises perceive as most effective in tackling such noncompliant behaviour. The results of a survey with 1,130 service sector businesses reveals that illegal competition is the most common major obstacle for their activity and more than a half are severely affected by competitors undertaking undeclared work. However, the proportion of businesses perceiving competitors undertaking undeclared work as a major obstacle varies across different service industries, as do the policy measures that businesses view as required to tackle undeclared work. The paper concludes by discussing the policy implications and calling for a shift from the dominant deterrence approach aimed at eradicating undeclared work to measures aimed at supporting the transition to declared work

Does the Network Affect Firms’ Performance? The Case of Italian Agri-Food Sector

A flourishing literature recognizes the merits of improving the performance of participants to business networks. This effect can be particularly significant in sectors with high concentration of micro and small firms. This study considers the case of Italian agri-food networks with legal personality. According to data from Italian Business Register, up to February 2020, we found 23 agri-food networks with legal personality, established in the period 2014-2017 by 172 firms. Using Orbis by BvD database, we collected balance sheet data, from 2011 to 2018, for 30 companies. Through non-parametric statistical analysis, we assessed the performance of these firms based on 12 balance sheet indicators, before and after the entry of companies into a business network. Results show that the economic indicators of firms had a positive trend after joining the network, but out of the 12 analyzed indicators before and after entering the network, differences are statistically significant just for 4 indicatores (Turnover; Shareholders funds; Return on equity, ROE; Return on capital employed, ROCE)

What Is the Cost of Raising a Child?

What are the expenses in raising a child? Or more children? Those are the questions that started this research, which entails the analysis of the budget distribution issue in relation to family expenses from the parent’s point of view – buyers of products for the whole family. The chosen research issue for this study is represented by the analysis of the structure of the expenses budget of families with 1 to 3 children aged between 0 and 14 years as well as determining the average expenses dedicated to children in the family budget. For this, we constructed through the quota method, a sample of 60 families supporting children aged 0 to 14. During the period of 3 consecutive months (November 2019 – January 2020) these families put all their expenses in a daily journal meant to record them based on different categories and sub-categories. The data analysis comparatively presents the main types of expenses destined strictly for children