Illegal work concerns economic activities that are prohibited by law. As such, illegal workers do not declare these activities to the government, making all
illegal work also undeclared work.
"For the OECD,
illegal work is that which concerns persons who are not legally authorized to work (which should not be confused with illegal production). Specific examples are migrant workers without work permits or government employees who hold a second job incompatible with the duties of their first job. In many countries, labour by children below the prescribed minimum age is also considered illegal, as well as remunerated activities undertaken by unemployed workers while they are in receipt of unemployment benefits."
(Daza, J.L.,
Informal Economy, Undeclared Work and Labour Administration, ILO, Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration Department, 2005, visited 2011-05-12)
Illegal Work and the Informal Economy
There are many criminal activities that can constitute
illegal work, such as arms trafficking, drug dealing, etc. In some cases, the goods themselves will be illegal, such as the sale of illegal drugs; in other cases, the merchandise will consist of goods which are otherwise legal but which are sold illicitly to avoid tax payments or licensing requirements, such as unregistered firearms. These activities are the basis of the illegal economy.
(adapted from Informal Economy,
On the Concept of Illegal Economy , 2006, visited 2011-05-12)
"The more a state represses freedom and free markets, whether this intervention is based on reasonable grounds or not, the bigger a parallel, irrepressible, underground or black or illegal economy grows. This brings governments to an issue of whether legalizing ‘some' of these businesses or improving the law in order to make it more effective in suppressing them. Therefore, the only economies in the world which are free in the absolute sense of the term are black economies, which, by nature and definition, are free of any sort of regulation whatsoever."
(Informal Economy,
On the Concept of Illegal Economy , 2006, visited 2011-05-12)
On a Global Scale
Illegal work can range from one man selling drugs in his basement to groups of highly organized actors coordinating illegal global supply chains.
"Criminal organizations, increasingly involved in activities that tend to cross national borders, have evolved into transnational entities. With the globalization of trade and consumer demand, it was a natural progression for organized crime groups to move from national activity to transnational operations.
[…]
The tendency is for groups to have a home base in an area where the risks are low while allowing the international transfer of illicit goods and services to markets where the profits are high. Acting transnationally provides the groups with access to lucrative markets and points of vulnerability that they can infiltrate. These groups are bigger and much more profitable than traditional groups and it is common for criminal organizations to channel the profits that they make through the global financial system, using tax havens and relatively unregulated banking centers as a means to hide their illegal income.
Organized crime on a global basis takes the form of an unregulated enterprise that engages in many forms of illegal activity. Through transnational activities, organized crime groups have become major players in illicit industries, such as drug production and trafficking, that are global in scope and yield profits higher than the gross national products of some nations."
(Global organized crime,
The Emergence of Global Organized Crime and its Transnational Influence, visited 2011-05-12)