ABSTRACT
In order to regulate the freelance and self-employed labor market and mitigate the impact of the informal economy, the Algerian authorities enacted a law aimed at organizing new economic activities that emerged with the rise of the knowledge and digital economies. This law became known as the Basic Law of the Self-Employed contractor. This study aimed to clarify the extent to which freelance and self-employment contribute to increasing the indicators of the informal economy in Algeria. It also examined the role of the self-employed contractor law as a newly established mechanism in attracting the largest possible number of self-employed workers to the formal economy. Through an analysis of the data related to the subject variables, the study reached a number of conclusions, the most important of which is that there is a strong positive correlation between informal economy indicators in Algeria and self-employment rates. Additionally, the establishment of the self-employed contractor status is considered an important step in incorporating Algerian freelancers and self-employed individuals into the formal sector. However, for this law to be an effective solution to regulate the freelance and self-employment market in Algeria, certain critical points that the study highlighted must be reconsidered, particularly the issue of excluding certain activities from the law, such as liberal professions and traditional crafts, as well as the issue of prohibiting dual employment in the fundamental laws of various sectors.

Keywords: Self-Employed contractor Law; Freelance Work; Informal Economy; Self-Employment.

JEL classification code: O17, J21, J32.

Full text