The Hidden Enterprise Culture: Entrepreneurship in the Underground EconomyEdward Elgar, 2006 - 263 pages Portraying how entrepreneurs often start out conducting some or all of their trade on an 'off-the-books' basis and how many continue to do so once they become established, this book provides the first detailed account of the vast and ubiquitous hidden enterprise culture existing in the interstices of western economies. Until now, the role of the underground economy in enterprise creation, entrepreneurship and small business development has been largely ignored despite its widespread prevalence and importance. In contrast to much of the previous literature that views the underground economy as low-paid, exploitative sweatshop work that should be deterred, this book takes a fresh, more positive perspective that considers the underground economy as a hidden enterprise culture. Colin C. Williams prescribes the means by which western governments can best harness this hidden culture of enterprise. He outlines detailed policy initiatives that seek to assist business ventures in setting up on a formal footing, and aim to encourage underground enterprises and entrepreneurs to make the transition into the realm of legitimacy. This book provides a lucid guide as to how the hidden culture of enterprise can be brought into the open. As such, it will prove invaluable to a wide-ranging audience including scholars and students of business studies, entrepreneurship, management, economics and regional science. |
From inside the book
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... given that few data sources were given by Grabiner to justify his stance . Indeed , society- wide amnesties continue to be used in many nations . In Italy , for example , an amnesty in 2003 resulted in some 703 000 illegal immigrants ...
... Given the plethora of reasons for the hidden enterprise culture , it has been stressed that each of these initiatives might be most effective when used in conjunction with others . Before pursuing these measures , however , detailed ...
... given that ' working while claiming ' constitutes only a small fragment of the underground economy ( Renooy et al . , 2004 ; Williams , 2004a ) , while compliance with labour laws is fragmented across many departments , none of whom ...