Independent work: choice, necessity, and the gig economy

1. DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT WORK AND RELATED TERMINOLOGY
In order to estimate the prevalence of independent work in the working-age population while 
accounting for the many different forms it can take, MGI decided to create our own definition 
of independent work. We have opted to forgo many of the commonly used terms related 
to independent work, such as “self-employment” or “freelancing,” and design a definition 
based purely on the characteristics of the work itself. This approach allows us to capture 
the full gamut of independent work and to make comparisons across countries without the 
distortions of country-specific terminology and legal classifications. 
The specific terms used throughout the report are detailed below:
 
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Worker/earner.
 Throughout the report, we use the terms “worker” and “earner” 
synonymously. In analyzing our survey respondents, anyone who reported earning 
income in the past 12 months was considered to be a worker. The number of workers 
observed in our sample varies from official estimates, however. This is because our 
survey inquired about the past 12 months of respondents’ work histories, where 
government surveys typically take a snapshot of the current week. We include all 
income earned through selling goods or leasing assets, and these activities might 
not necessarily constitute employment in official statistics. We also included earning 
activities such as short-term gigs and one-off jobs, some of which could be part of the 
informal economy. We do not, however, consider income from purely passive sources 
such as interest income.
 
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Independent work.
 As detailed in Chapter 1, any income-generating activity can be 
considered independent work as long as it involves a high degree of autonomy; the 
worker is paid by the task, assignment, or sales; and the relationship between the worker 
and the customer or client is short-term. We include activities that are commonly referred 
to as “services” or “labor”—that is, those in which a worker is explicitly paid for the time 
and effort they provide to the customer. We also include activities such as selling of