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Extended Abstract
Introduction
The social security organization was introduced by the government as the most strategic organization in reducing poverty and other pervasive social pathologies for the working and retired community. The distinguishing feature of this organization compared to other active insurance organizations is financial independence in fulfilling its obligations. In other words, a large share of this organization’s financial resources is provided through insurance premiums received from employers, which have been transformed for a long time under the influence of various factors, including fluctuations in insurance premium rates and increased inflation and economic recession. In fact, regarding the economic crises and their impact on the economic movements of employers, including the reduction in the purchasing power of imported and production necessities, as well as the change in the salary of workers, sometimes such services are considered unjustified by employers and workers, and in such circumstances despite the existing legal requirements, insurance evasion may happen.
The current research aims to study the perception of the elites and experts of the social security organization about the phenomenon of insurance evasion and the conditions and affecting factors that may create it, using a qualitative and in-depth approach.
Method
The current research is performed using the qualitative research method based on the grounded theory. In this method first, the researchers have collected the data (obtaining information from the common experiences of human life according to the social and cultural contexts of society), and this information is coded using the three-stage approach of Strauss and Corbin (open, central and selective) in the software environment MAXQDA 2018. In this process, the categories and connections between them are identified, and then it finally leads to the development of a coherent and conceptual model including causal conditions, intervention conditions, background conditions, strategies, and consequences. Using such a strategy in the analysis of research data with the grounded theory method leads researchers to theoretical conclusions about social issues. The population of this research is the elites and experts of the Social Security Organization, Branch 3 of Mashhad, among whom 14 people were selected by purposive sampling (including all positions and career experiences of Social Security employees). They were interviewed regarding the main question of the current study, “What are the main factors and conditions affecting accidents outside of insurance?” It should be noted that the interview process continued until reaching theoretical saturation. Validity and reliability in the current research are approved using strategies such as long-term involvement of the researcher with the research environment, having complete knowledge about the rules and norms in the study environment (social security organization), interviewing, and then continuous data analysis (analysis data after conducting each interview) together with supervisor and advisors through the three-stage coding approach of Strauss and Corbin, considering a significant amount of diversity in information sources (interviewees) such as personality characteristics (age, education, and job position) and checking the results of the research was done by testing the results by a third party who escaped from the insurance either as an employer or as a worker.
Discussion
The results of the data analysis of the present research show that the central category “insurance evasion, short-term profit-seeking of beneficiaries and long-term instability in the production of social welfare” is enclosed by a set of causal conditions including “lack of knowledge of insurance benefits”, “complexity and ambiguity of laws and regulations”, “lack of intelligent monitoring and evaluation system” and “prevalence of abnormal profit-making and profit-taking patterns”, background conditions categories such as “deficiencies in the transparency of social security organizational structures”, “occurrence of successive waves of economic crises”, the intervention categories of “Education level of the beneficiaries” and “condition of jobs and careers”. The other part of the conclusions of this research shows that social security activists facing this phenomenon, use strategies such as “prioritizing income provision over guaranteeing income for the workforce”, “companionship of the workforce based on threats/persuasion”, “confronting selectiveness and concealment with the category of insurance” and “ignoring the benefits of insurance” which have consequences such as “challenge in the economic supply of uninsured human resources due to leaving work”, “gradual and increasing collapse of income - the cost of insurance organizations” and de-transparency of the labor market statistics and information system. In conclusion, the statements of the elites and experts of the social security organization regarding direct and indirect exposure to types of not paying insurance premiums show that insurance evasion is influenced by two macro-economic and structural factors more than any other factor.
Inflation increase and its impact on employers such as the increase in insurance rates and taxes and the price of raw materials (economic factors) encourages employers to avoid insurance due to the reduction of additional and non-refundable costs. In some cases, workers are eager to cooperate with employers to avoid paying insurance premiums to prioritize their material needs over other needs. It should be noted that cooperation between employers and workers with a focus on reducing the economic problems for both of them is considered the most popular and least dangerous way to avoid insurance. On the other hand, the Social Security Organization’s incorrect and incomplete information about the organization’s legal and service provisions to the audience, the use of non-standard systems to detect insurance violations by the organization’s activists, and the weak control over the employers’ performance due to the lack of employees in the form of structural factors facilitate any insurance violation.
Ethical considerations
The research was conducted in accordance with ethical standards. These principles include: 1. Allowing participants to withdraw from the research at any stage. 2. Maintaining confidentiality and protecting the identity of participants throughout the research process. 3. Adhering to ethical principles of honesty and integrity in the use of data and scientific resources at all stages of the research.
Type of Study:
orginal |
Received: 2022/06/26 | Accepted: 2024/01/24 | Published: 2024/05/3
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