Demography, workforce economy, social and economic policy

Commissioned educational and scientific works as a freelance activity: socio-economic aspects

Economic Annals-XXI

Economic Annals-ХХI: Volume 186, Issue 11-12, Pages: 152-160

Citation information:
Grimov, O. (2020). Commissioned educational and scientific works as a freelance activity: socio-economic aspects. Economic Annals-XXI, 186(11-12), 152-160. doi: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V186-17

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Oleg Grimov
PhD (Sociology),
Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Sociology,
Faculty of Economics and Management,
Southwest State University
94, 50 Let Oktyabrya Str., Kursk, 305040, Russian Federation
grimoleg@yandex.ru
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6883-9898

Commissioned educational and scientific works as a freelance activity: socio-economic aspects

Abstract. Nowadays, a large segment of shadow economy is related to educational and scientific works to order. It is characterized by significant demand. Special types of social and economic entities, their practices and interactions are formed in the structure of this market. However, meaningful characteristics of such employment are virtually unexplored. It can be noted that the place of this employment in the general context of freelance is not sufficiently studied. Its professional structure, its specifics and financial and economic characteristics, as well as social values and attitudes of performers of commissioned works, are not sufficiently studied. This paper is aimed at filling these gaps.

The purpose of the paper is a socio-economic analysis of employment in preparing commissioned educational and scientific works. The results of the author’s sociological study (an expert survey of work performers, N = 48), as well as statistical and secondary sociological data are given.

Social and economic parameters of preparing commissioned educational and scientific works are considered. An analysis of economic characteristics of commissioned educational and scientific works was carried out; a typology of motivations of this employment is given.

The author concludes that preparation of commissioned works has social and economic attractiveness for performers in the general context of informal employment.

Mechanisms for professionalization and continuation of this activity are being formed, which has an impact on market and educational institutions.

Keywords: Service Market for Execution of Commissioned Educational and Scientific Works; Ghost-writers; Commissioned Work Factory; Academic Fraud; Freelance

JEL Classification: J21; J23; J40; J44; O17

Acknowledgements and Funding: The research is financed by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 19-18-00504 «Sociotechnical environment of digital reality: ontological matrices, ethical and axiological regulative structures, roadmaps, and information support for management decision-making».

Contribution: The author contributed personally to this work.

Data Availability Statement: The dataset is available from the author upon request.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V186-17

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Received 14.10.2020
Received in revised form 9.11.2020
Accepted 16.11.2020
Available online 28.12.2020

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