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Research Article
Open Access

Making Ends Meet: The Role of Informal Work in Supplementing Americans’ Income

Katharine G. Abraham, Susan N. Houseman
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences December 2019, 5 (5) 110-131; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2019.5.5.06
Katharine G. Abraham
aProfessor of economics and survey methodology at the University of Maryland
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Susan N. Houseman
bVice president and director of research at the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
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  • Article
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REFERENCES

  1. ↵
    1. Abraham, Katharine G., and
    2. Ashley Amaya
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  2. ↵
    1. Abraham, Katharine G.,
    2. John C. Haltiwanger,
    3. Kristin Sandusky, and
    4. James R. Spletzer
    . 2018a. “Driving the Gig Economy.” Unpublished paper, University of Maryland, College Park.
  3. ↵
    1. Abraham, Katharine G.,
    2. John C. Haltiwanger,
    3. Kristin Sandusky, and
    4. James R. Spletzer
    . 2018b. “Measuring the Gig Economy: Current Knowledge and Open Issues.” NBER working paper no. 24950. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research.
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    1. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve)
    . 2017. Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2016. Washington, D.C.: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
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    1. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve)
    . 2018. Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017. Washington, D.C.: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
  6. ↵
    1. Bracha, Anat, and
    2. Mary A. Burke
    . 2019. “How Big Is the Gig?” Unpublished paper, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
  7. ↵
    1. Cook, Cody,
    2. Rebecca Diamond,
    3. Jonathan Hall,
    4. John A. List, and
    5. Paul Oyer
    . 2018. “The Gender Earnings Gap in the Gig Economy: Evidence from over a Million Rideshare Drivers.” NBER working paper no. 24732. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research.
  8. ↵
    1. Edin, Kathryn, and
    2. Laura Lein
    . 1997. Making Ends Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low-Wage Work. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
  9. ↵
    1. Farrell, Diana, and
    2. Fiona Greig
    . 2016a. “Paychecks, Paydays, and the Online Platform Economy.” New York: JPMorgan Chase Institute. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/institute/document/jpmc-institute-volatility-2-report.pdf.
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    1. Farrell, Diana, and
    2. Fiona Greig
    . 2016b. “The Online Platform Economy: Has Growth Peaked?” New York: JPMorgan Chase Institute. Accessed July 1, 2019. http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/institute/document/jpmc-institute-online-platform-econ-brief.pdf.
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    1. Farrell, Diana,
    2. Fiona Greig, and
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    . 2018. “The Online Platform Economy in 2018: Drivers, Workers, Sellers and Lessors.” New York: JPMorgan Chase Institute. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/institute/document/institute-ope-2018.pdf.
  12. ↵
    1. Fitzpayne, Alastair, and
    2. Hilary Greenberg
    . 2018. “Portable Benefits Legislation Reintroduced in Washington State: Uber and SEIU Commit to Work Together.” Employment and Jobs (Aspen Institute blog), February 23. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/wa-portable-benefits-bill-letter-2018.
  13. ↵
    1. Groves, Robert, and
    2. Emilia Peytcheva
    . 2008. “The Impact of Nonresponse Rates on Nonresponse Bias: A Meta-Analysis.” Public Opinion Quarterly 72(2): 167–89.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  14. ↵
    1. Jackson, Emilie,
    2. Adam Looney, and
    3. Shanthi Ramnath
    . 2017. “The Rise of Alternative Work Arrangements: Evidence and Implications for Tax Filing and Benefit Coverage.” Office of Tax Analysis working paper no. 114. Washington: U.S. Department of the Treasury. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/WP-114.pdf.
  15. ↵
    1. Katz, Lawrence F., and
    2. Alan B. Krueger
    . 2016. “The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995–2015.” NBER working paper no. 22667. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research.
  16. ↵
    1. Katz, Lawrence F., and
    2. Alan B. Krueger
    . 2019. “Understanding Trends in Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 5(5): 132–46. DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.5.07.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  17. ↵
    1. Koustas, Dmitri
    . 2018. “Consumption Insurance and Multiple Jobs: Evidence from Rideshare Drivers.” Unpublished working paper. Chicago: University of Chicago.
  18. ↵
    1. Maxim, Robert, and
    2. Mark Muro
    . 2018. “Rethinking Worker Benefits for an Economy in Flux.” The Avenue (Brookings Institution blog), March 30. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/29/rethinking-worker-benefits-for-an-economy-in-flux.
  19. ↵
    1. Mishel, Lawrence
    . 2018. “Contingent Worker Survey Is Further Evidence That We Are Not Becoming a Nation of Freelancers.” Statement, June 7. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.epi.org/press/contingent-worker-survey-is-further-evidence-that-we-are-not-becoming-a-nation-of-freelancers/.
  20. ↵
    1. Mishel, Lawrence, and
    2. Julia Wolfe
    . 2018. “Has Self-Employment Surged?” Working Economics Blog (Economic Policy Institute), June 20. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.epi.org/blog/has-self-employment-surged-data-on-nonemployer-establishments-confirm-other-data-showing-more-activity-but-not-much-economic-impact/.
  21. ↵
    1. Robles, Barbara, and
    2. Marysol McGee
    . 2016. “Exploring Online and Offline Informal Work: Findings from the Enterprising and Informal Work Activities (EIWA) Survey.” Finance and Economics Discussion Series no. 2016–089. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
  22. ↵
    1. Seefeldt, Kristin S., and
    2. Heather Sandstrom
    . 2015. “When There Is No Welfare: The Income Packaging Strategies of Mothers Without Earnings or Cash Assistance Following an Economic Downturn.” RSF: Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 1(1): 139–58. DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2015.1.1.08.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  23. ↵
    1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
    . 2018. “National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States.” Bulletin no. 2789. Washington: U.S. Department of Labor.
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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 5 (5)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 5, Issue 5
1 Dec 2019
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Making Ends Meet: The Role of Informal Work in Supplementing Americans’ Income
Katharine G. Abraham, Susan N. Houseman
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Dec 2019, 5 (5) 110-131; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.5.06

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Making Ends Meet: The Role of Informal Work in Supplementing Americans’ Income
Katharine G. Abraham, Susan N. Houseman
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Dec 2019, 5 (5) 110-131; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.5.06
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