Understanding the gig economy - Recruiting Resources
The gig economy is shaping the conversation around the future of work. What does it mean? Is it real? How do we measure on-demand work and legislate for it?
Larry Katz
To rebut the skeptics, economists like Harvard’s <anchor>Larry Katz</anchor> have dug into ‘1099’ filings for evidence. When a business, non-profit or government agency pays someone more than $600 a year in non-employee compensation this is the form they file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These filings are on the rise. A deep dive into government data finds that non-employer businesses (sole proprietors) are up from 12 percent of the US workforce at the end of the 1990s to 16 percent in 2013 (no data since). This has prompted some observers to argue that we have a “1099 economy”.
Lawrence Katz
Lawrence Katz

[Skip to main content](#main-content)

- Main Menu
- Utility Menu
- Search

[![University Logo](https://scholar.harvard.edu/profiles/openscholar/themes/hwpi_basetheme/images/harvard-logo.png)](http://www.harvard.edu/)

[DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS](http://economics.harvard.edu) \| [FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES](http://www.fas.harvard.edu) \| [HARVARD.EDU](http://www.harvard.edu/)

# [Lawrence Katz](/lkatz)

## Elisabeth Allison Professor of Economics

Search

![Faculty Photo](http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/lkatz/files/katz.jpg)

[![](https://scholar.harvard.edu/sites/scholar.harvard.edu/files/styles/os_files_medium/public/lkatz/files/econlogo_0.png?m=1364329165&itok=qu_jRaJz)](http://economics.harvard.edu/)

Littauer Center 224

[lkatz@harvard.edu](mailto:lkatz@harvard.edu)

**Tel:** 617- 495-5148

**Fax:** (617) 495-7730

**Office Hours:**

Wednesday 2 to 3:30 PM

Contact Emily Dietzel to make an office hours appointment

**Staff support:** Emily Dietzel

**Email:** [edietzel@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:edietzel@fas.harvard.edu)

**Telephone:** 617-496-1488

- [Bio & CV](/lkatz/biocv "")
- [Ph.D. Students](/lkatz/past-phd-students "")
- [Classes](/lkatz/classes "list of classes")
- [Publications](/lkatz/publications "")
- [Books](/lkatz/pages/books-1 "Books")
- [QJE](http://qje.oxfordjournals.org/)
- [J-PAL North America](http://www.povertyactionlab.org/north-america)
- [Moving to Opportunity](http://www.nber.org/mtopublic/)
- [Harvard and Beyond](/lkatz/goldin/pages/harvard-and-beyond-project)
- [Pika](http://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/pages/pika)

[Admin Login](/user?destination=lkatz/home%3Fadmin_panel%3D1%26login%3D1)

Copyright © 2024 The President and Fellows of Harvard College \| [Accessibility](https://accessibility.harvard.edu/) \| [Digital Accessibility](https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/digital-accessibility-policy) \| [Report Copyright Infringement](https://www.harvard.edu/copyright-issue/)