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Saunders, S., and E. Loots. "Measuring the informal economy in South Africa." South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences 8, no. 1 (2015): 92–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v8i1.1286.
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Measuring the size of the South African informal economy has received inadequate attention, making it difficult for policy-makers to assess the impact of policy measures to stimulate informal economic activity. This article aims to estimate the size of the informal economy by using the Currency Demand Approach. The empirical results reveal that the informal economy as a percentage of GDP decreased from 1967 to 1993, before levelling off. The growth in the informal econmy has also underperformed in comparison to formal economic growth. There appears to be a causal relationship running from the informal to the formal economy. Macro-economic policies aimed at the formal economy will not necessarily 'trickle down' to the informal, while these polcies aimed at the informal economy may have a profound effect on the formal economy.
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Silva, Harley, Sibelle Diniz, and Vanessa Ferreira. "Circuitos da economia urbana e economia dos setores populares na fronteira amazônica: o cenário atual no sudeste do Pará." Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais 15, no. 2 (2013): 61. http://dx.doi.org/10.22296/2317-1529.2013v15n2p61.
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Embora a expansão do mercado trabalho formal seja uma tendência sustentada no Brasil nos últimos anos, a persistência de formas de ocupação ligadas ao circuito inferior da economia é uma realidade ampla e mal compreendida. Isso é particularmente verdade para as diversas fronteiras da Amazônia brasileira, onde a economia informal, popular, solidária e familiar persiste, a despeito dos grandes investimentos destinados ao circuito superior. Esse trabalho investiga a situação vigente no sudeste paraense, onde a economia formal de alguns municípios tem crescido a “taxas chinesas” e ao mesmo tempo há a presença massiva de formas alternativas de inserção econômica da população, particularmente a de baixa renda.Palavras-chave: economia dos setores populares; economia informal; circuito inferior; fronteira amazônica; sudeste paraense. Abstract: Although the expansion of formal labor market is a sustained trend in Brazil, occupation in the lower circuit of the economy is persistent and poorly understood. In Brazilian Amazon frontiers, informal, family and solidarity economy persists, in spite of large investments destinated to the upper circuit. This work investigates the current context of the southeast of Pará, where the formal economy of some municipalities has grown at “Chinese rates”, while alternative forms of economic integration incorporate the majority of the population. Keywords: popular economy; informal economy; lower circuit; Amazon frontier; southeast of Pará.
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Shapland, Joanna, and Jason Heyes. "How close are formal and informal work?" International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 37, no. 7/8 (2017): 374–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijssp-06-2016-0071.
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Purpose Recent changes in the UK to the regulation and modes of work in the formal and informal economies are considered. Research in this field has tended to remain in silos (treating formal economy working conditions separately from research on the informal economy). The question is whether the means of work and benefits to the worker for formal and informal work are now as different as the former images of formal and informal economy work imply under a “jobs-for-life” economy. The purpose of this paper is to consider whether the current aim of government regulation of the informal economy – to formalise it – is actually of benefit to workers, as might be supposed. Design/methodology/approach This paper considers recent research findings on the formal and informal economy, using official government statistics for the UK and more detailed European studies on the informal economy. Findings This paper argues that formal employment in the UK is becoming more casualised, with less associated benefits to employees. Though it is still of benefit to the state to formalise informal work (to increase tax take), some of the links between formalisation and a good working environment for workers are being broken, which may lead to the informal economy becoming more popular and requiring different priorities in its regulation. Originality/value This paper argues that we need to change our assumptions and image of work in the formal economy, compared to that in the informal economy.
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Williams, Colin C., John Round, and Peter Rodgers. "Beyond the formal/informal economy binary hierarchy." International Journal of Social Economics 34, no. 6 (2007): 402–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03068290710751812.
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Sweidan, Osama. "Economic Freedom and the Informal Economy." Global Economy Journal 17, no. 4 (2017): 20170002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/gej-2017-0002.
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This paper empirically investigates the effect of economic freedom on the informal economies in a sample of 112 countries over the period 2000–2007. We employ two methodologies: fixed effect and the GMM models. We find a statistically significant negative relationship between economic freedom and the informal economy. This conclusion indicates that the nature of the economic system plays an important role in seizing the informal economy. Further, our results demonstrate that the formal and informal economies are substitutes. The policy implication is that economies with high share of informal economy should work with fewer economic restrictions.
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ALNAHEDH, MISHARI, and SALEM ALSANOUSI. "ENTREPRENEURIAL SPAWNING IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY." Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 25, no. 02 (2020): 2050008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s1084946720500089.
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What is the career background of formal and informal entrepreneurs and does this influence their formalization decision? We employ the theory of planned behavior, social identity theory and embedded career capital framework to develop hypotheses on how the new venture formalization decision is dependent on the entrepreneur’s career history. We find that employment in a family business and in the private sector is related positively to founding a formal new venture. Furthermore, our results show that a career in the same industry as the new venture increases the likelihood of formalizing the venture. These findings emphasize the role of the career background in the entrepreneur’s formalization decision through building embedded-career capital, influencing the social identity and determining the attitude toward starting a formal versus informal new venture.
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Habib-Mintz, Nazia. "To What Extent Can the Informal Economy Concept Adequately Explain the Dynamism of the Non-Formal Sector in Developing Countries?" Journal of International Business and Economy 10, no. 1 (2009): 1–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.51240/jibe.2009.1.1.
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The informal economy exists in both developing and developed nations, though it is most often associated as an engine of economic dynamism in developing countries. The concept is generally defined as the sum of economic income generating activities outside of the formal economy, which are registered, tax paying and legal. Since the 1970s when the term first entered academic discourse, the informal economy conceptually evolved through several distinct phases starting with neoliberal, then to reformist and next structuralist ideology before the term outgrew its usefulness in the 1990s and turned into operate outside of the formal economy. This paper argues that the discourse of the informal economy remains inadequate and ill-defined lemma on mainstreaming the informal economy.
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Yang, Kun (Michelle), and Michael J. Pisani. "When informality meets formality: evidence from China." Chinese Management Studies 12, no. 1 (2018): 184–201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cms-03-2017-0055.
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Purpose This study aims to explore “what impact does competition from informal enterprises have on formal firms” within the Chinese economic and business environment. Design/methodology/approach The paper opted for an exploratory study utilizing the cross-sectional survey data “2012 China Enterprise Survey” conducted by the World Bank. The survey is composed of approximately 200 business-related questions across the spectrum of business operations. In all, 2,700 privately owned Chinese firms are included in the logistic regression analysis. Findings Results show the impact of informal firm competition upon formal firms in China are influenced by geographical location, industry sector, ownership profile, governmental ownership, online presence and the extent of obeying labor regulations or the time spent in handling the governmental regulatory environment. There is a competitive and complementary simultaneous intertwined relationship between formal and informal economy. It occurs in a formal economy not fully divorced from the structural inertia of the planned economy as it transitions to a market-based economy. Practical implications This paper extended the assumption of institutional theory and presented it as a dynamic view of the evolution of organizations. It contributes by offering a simultaneous dual relationship between the formal and informal economy. It also adds one more potential feature of populations in the population ecology theory. Originality/value This exploratory paper empirically examines the impacts of informal sector enterprises on formal sectors firms in China and proposes a dual force effect of the informal economy to the formal economy given the current Chinese institutional environment. The study also provides a platform for further research on the interactions between the formal and informal sectors in emerging markets.
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Al-Mataani, Rashid, Thomas Wainwright, and Pelin Demirel. "Hidden Entrepreneurs: Informal Practices within the Formal Economy." European Management Review 14, no. 4 (2017): 361–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/emre.12115.
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Savall, Henri, Veronique Zardet, Marc Bonnet, and Michel Peron. "Moving from Informal to Formal Economy through Consulting." Academy of Management Proceedings 2012, no. 1 (2012): 12320. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2012.12320abstract.
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Efendic, Nirha, Edin Pasovic, and Adnan S. Efendic. "Understanding the Informal Economy in Practice – Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina." e-Finanse 14, no. 4 (2018): 77–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/fiqf-2018-0029.
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AbstractThis paper provides insights into the informal economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), a post--conflict transition economy in the Western Balkan region aspiring to became part of the European Union. After the introductory section and literature review, we introduce the economic outlook of BiH and then provide evidence estimating the size of the informal economy, which is identified to be around 30% over the last couple of years. As the size of the informal economy is high and persistent, this implies that current policy approaches are not efficient in tackling this economic challenge. To understand how the informal economy operates in practice, we use data from two different surveys to assess tax morality, undeclared work and the structure of the participants in the informal economy. In the next section, we supplement the study with ethnographic insights. In particular, we identify how participants in the informal economy use it for different purposes and with different motives. This includes reliance on the informal economy as a survival strategy for households, as a way to supplement insufficient formal income, to compensate for economic insecurity, or to decrease costs of formal business by using “envelope wage” practices, but equally importantly to overcome formal institutional rigidities linked to current contradictory laws. Still, we find indications that the growth of informal business is converging to formalisation, as informality at some stages of business development becomes a burden to higher entrepreneurial growth aspirations.
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Abi Aad, Amine, and James G. Combs. "Choosing between the formal and informal economy: how do managers decide?" Cross Cultural & Strategic Management 28, no. 3 (2021): 679–701. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ccsm-07-2020-0140.
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PurposeWe raise and address an unexamined research question: Why do managers place some business activities in the formal economy and others in the informal? This firm-level managerial choice is most visible in emerging economies and is important due to its performance implications.Design/methodology/approachWe theorize that managers use social ties with formal institutions (e.g. parliament, central bank) to protect against (1) being singled out for enforcement and (2) opportunistic business partners, and that these protections allow managers to conduct more activities in the informal economy. Based on regulatory focus theory, we also submit that managers with a promotion (prevention) focus mindset are more (less) prone to use their social ties with formal institutions to emphasize the informal economy. Hypotheses are tested using survey data from 362 Lebanese top managers.FindingsManagers' social ties with formal institutions relate positively to their propensity to use the informal economy, and managers with a promotion mindset are more willing and those with a prevention mindset are less willing to leverage their social ties with formal institutions to conduct activities in the informal economy.Originality/valueOur study raises an important new research question at the intersection of strategic and international management and offers an initial answer. Working within the informal economy requires informal social ties among informal actors, but for formally registered firms, entry into the informal economy requires informal ties with formal actors.
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Vincent, Susan. "Pensions, Peasants, and the Informal Economy: Family and Livelihood in Contemporary Peru." Latin American Perspectives 45, no. 1 (2017): 195–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0094582x17726084.
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A Peruvian case study explores how urban informal workers negotiate their livelihoods as they age, highlighting reciprocity among urban informal workers, retired formal sector workers, and peasants in a pattern of rural-urban circular migration. Labor-intensive mining in the twentieth century created a proletarian workforce that included men from the peasant community of Allpachico. Their wages became an anchor for kin-linked clusters of households. Now, despite an economic boom, the lack of formal jobs forces younger Allpachiqueños to undertake precarious and informal work. Resource-sector-funded state social spending, such as through state-administered pensions for retired workers and the elderly poor, has replaced wages as a stable source of cash. This state mediation between the technology-intensive resource sector and citizens elicits suspicion and uncertainty. Dispossessed of the right to work and subjected to conditions of eligibility for social programs, urban informal workers continue to rely on kin and community. Un estudio de caso peruano explora cómo los trabajadores informales urbanos negocian sus formas de ganarse la vida conforma envejecen, y destaca la reciprocidad entre dichos trabajadores, los trabajadores jubilados del sector formal y los campesinos en un patrón de migración circular del campo a la ciudad. Durante el siglo XX, la minería intensiva dio lugar a una fuerza de trabajo proletaria que incluía a hombres de la comunidad campesina de Allpachico. Sus salarios se convirtieron en una forma de anclaje para grupos de hogares con vínculos consanguíneos. Ahora, a pesar del auge económico, la falta de empleos formales oblige a los jóvenes de Allpachico a trabajar de manera precaria e informal. El gasto social estatal financiado por los recursos del sector, como las pensiones estatales para trabajadores jubilados y los ancianos pobres, ha sustituido los salarios como fuente estable de efectivo. Dicha mediación estatal entre un sector de recursos con tecnología intensiva y la ciudadanía provoca sospechas e incertidumbre. Sin derecho a un trabajo y sometidos a los criterios impuestos de admisibilidad para recibir asistencia social, los trabajadores informales urbanos continúan dependiendo de sus familiares y comunidad.
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Naidoo, GP, and TI Fenyes. "Quantitative linkages between the formal and informal sectors in the South African economy." South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences 6, no. 4 (2003): 693–723. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v6i4.1513.
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The need to quantify the impact of the informal sector has thus far not received adequate attention so as to allow policy makers, informal sector enterprises and the formal sector to determine which specific areas of the economy should be further analysed for the purposes of ascertaining the linkages that exist between the formal and informal sectors. In this study, an attempt is made to quantify the linkages between the formal and informal sector, using the 1993 South African Input–Output Table. By disaggregating the formal and informal sectors, it has been possible to determine specific coefficients for both sectors. The “importexport” concept has been used to show how these sectors are interrelated. The multiplier analysis confirms that certain sectors of the informal sector may be more responsive to changes in the final demand than the formal sector.
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Elgin, Ceyhun. "INFORMAL ECONOMY IN A DYNAMIC POLITICAL FRAMEWORK." Macroeconomic Dynamics 19, no. 3 (2013): 578–617. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1365100513000497.
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I develop a dynamic political economy model with an informal sector and two political parties alternating in office. In equilibrium, if the incumbent political party faces a higher probability of staying in office, it sets a higher tax rate on the formal economy to invest more in productive public capital, while spending less for current office rent. Moreover, I argue that public capital is mainly utilized by the formal sector, and this implies that countries in which incumbent parties are more likely to stay in power have a higher tax burden but a smaller informal sector. I also present some empirical evidence that supports the main results of the model.
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Acevedo-Pardo, Julán. "Labor Informality and Economic Political Accountability of Executive Incumbents in Latin America." Revista Latinoamericana de Opinión Pública 10, no. 1 (2021): 105–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.14201/rlop.25920.
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Many governments across Latin America have been unable to reduce stubbornly high levels of labor informality and the lack of legal and social protection put informal workers in a situation of continuous economic peril and uncertainty. This paper argues that the inherent characteristics and conditions of informal workers act as noisy signals that diminish the effect that economic perceptions have on evaluations of the incumbent executive across Latin American countries. The empirical results support the argument, suggesting that the effect of perceptions of the economy on evaluations of the incumbent is lower among informal relative to formal workers. Furthermore, this dynamic is prevalent in urban areas where there is a more evident differentiation between formal and informal workers, and disappears in rural areas, where both formal and informal workers face challenges that produce noisy signals and diminish the effect of perceptions of the economy on evaluations of the incumbent.
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Davies, Rob, and James Thurlow. "FORMAL-INFORMAL ECONOMY LINKAGES AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA." South African Journal of Economics 78, no. 4 (2010): 437–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2010.01250.x.
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Williams, Colin Charles, and Slavko Bezeredi. "Explaining and tackling the informal economy: a dual informal labour market approach." Employee Relations 40, no. 5 (2018): 889–902. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/er-04-2017-0085.
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Purpose To transcend the long-standing debate regarding whether workers are driven into the informal economy by either their involuntary “exclusion” or voluntary “exit” from the formal economy, the purpose of this paper is to propose and evaluate the existence of a dual informal labour market composed of an exit-driven “upper tier” and an exclusion-driven “lower-tier” of informal workers, and to explore its policy implications. Design/methodology/approach To do so, data are reported from a 2015 survey of the informal economy conducted in South-East Europe involving 6,019 face-to-face interviews in Bulgaria, Croatia and FYR Macedonia. Findings Identifying a dual informal labour market with three exit-driven informal workers for every exclusion-driven informal worker, a multinomial logit regression analysis reveals that, compared to the exclusion-driven “lower tier”, the exit-driven “upper tier” is significantly more likely to be populated by the formally employed, retired and those not struggling financially. Participation is not affected by the perceived severity of penalties and likely risks of detection, but relative to those in the exclusion-driven “lower tier”, there is a significant correlation between those doing so for exit rationales and their lack of both horizontal trust and vertical trust in formal institutions. Practical implications The outcome is a call to transcend the conventional deterrence approach of increasing the penalties and risks of detection. Instead, to tackle those driven by exit rationales, tackling both the lack of horizontal trust that other citizens are operating in a compliant manner and the lack of vertical trust in formal institutions is advocated. To tackle exclusion-driven informal workers, meanwhile, a focus upon the macro-level economic and social conditions which lead to their participation is required. Originality/value This is the first paper to empirically evaluate the existence of a dual informal labour market and to evaluate its policy implications.
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Abid, Mehdi, and Ousama Ben Salha. "The informal economy in Tunisia: measurement and linkage with the formal economy." International Journal of Economics and Business Research 6, no. 2 (2013): 194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/ijebr.2013.055539.
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Williams, Colin C., Ioana Alexandra Horodnic, and Jan Windebank. "Explaining participation in the informal economy: a purchaser perspective." International Journal of Social Economics 44, no. 11 (2017): 1421–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijse-03-2016-0099.
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Purpose Participation in the informal economy has been predominantly explained from a supply side perspective by evaluating the rationales for people working in this sphere. Recognising that many transactions in the informal economy are often instigated by customers, exemplified by purchasers asking “how much for cash?”, the purpose of this paper is to explain the informal economy from a demand-side perspective by evaluating citizens’ rationales for making purchases in the informal economy. Here, the authors test three potential explanations for acquiring goods and services in the informal economy, grounded in rational economic actor, social actor and formal economy imperfections theoretical perspectives. Design/methodology/approach To do this, a 2013 Eurobarometer survey, involving 27,563 face-to-face interviews conducted in 28 European Union member states is reported. Findings The finding is that all three rationales apply but the weight given to each varies across populations. A multinomial logit regression analysis then pinpoints the specific groups variously using the informal economy to obtain a lower price, for social or redistributive rationales, or due to the failures of the formal economy in terms of the availability, speed and quality of provision. Practical implications The outcome is to reveal that the conventional policy approach of changing the cost/benefit ratios confronting purchasers will only be effective for those purchasers citing a lower price as their prime rationale. Different policy measures will be required for those making informal economy purchases due to the shortcomings of the formal economy, and for social ends. These policy measures are then discussed. Originality/value The value and originality of this paper is that it explains participation in the informal economy from a purchaser, rather than the predominant supplier, perspective.
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Lazaridis, Gabriella, and Maria Koumandraki. "Survival Ethnic Entrepreneuers in Greece: A Mosaic of Informal and Formal Business Activities." Sociological Research Online 8, no. 2 (2003): 38–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.5153/sro.801.
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This paper explores the phenomenon of ethnic entrepreneurship in Greece. Greece has been transformed from an emigration to an immigration country. Since the 1990s the majority of migrant workers occupy low paid, unskilled jobs in the informal economy. However, some set up (in) formal businesses. Ethnic entrepreneurs of our study have been excluded from social and economic opportunities. By running a business they struggle against exclusion, have control over their work situation (work hours, income) and gain emotional satisfaction and self-fulfilment. As we will show, self-employment is viewed as an ‘alternative income-generating activity, a strategy towards inclusion, a feasible ‘survival strategy’ for escaping discrimination and exclusion given the lack of other employment options. In this context, entrepreneurship is not viewed as an economic behaviour structured by the existing economic and socio-political structures only, but also, as having an important subjective meaning for the self-employed migrant. We will demonstrate that ethnic businesses comprise a mosaic of formal and informal activities. Opportunities for participation of migrants in informal activities occur because of the high demand for informal provision of services and goods at competitive prices. The entrance barriers are lower than in the informal sector since one usually does not have to meet costs associated with running of a business. Although the development of ethnic business activities will be viewed as the outcome of interaction on one's legal status, economic resources, access to informal networks of support, individual aspirations and structures of opportunity (e.g. informal economy) available to migrants in the Greek case migrants are faced with structural disadvantages that push them into what is marginal self-employment. It is the peculiarities of the Greek case (large informal economy and high rates of self-employment and the multiple forms of exclusion they experience as they were in Greece) that encourage them to become ‘ survival’ entrepreneurs, to strive to create a business of their own in the ‘twilight zone’ of the Greek economy where they often carry out extra-legal activities in order to ‘survive’.
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Ostapenko, Nataliia. "National culture, institutions and economic growth." Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy 4, no. 3 (2015): 331–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jepp-11-2014-0040.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential pathway of influence of formal and informal institutions and economic development on the business productive behaviour at the national level. Design/methodology/approach – In the paper SEM models and regression analysis are used to define the causal relationships. Using data from cultural dimensions of Hofstede, Inglehart and Tabellini, proxies for formal institutions and economic development this research empirically examines the way of influence of these factors on entrepreneurship performance in the national economy. Findings – This paper demonstrates that, stimulating by the economic growth, formal and informal institutions could affect business productive behaviour at the macro level in both direct and indirect ways through each other. Formal and informal institutions were found to act as substitutes. The author argues that the decision to act productively is not just a result of the formal institutional framework – “bad” outcomes of business development may also be a consequence of the activity of certain informal institutions as well as caused by poor levels of national economic development. Practical implications – Based on the findings of this research it is possible to improve the methods of formation of stimulation policy for driving business behaviour in a productive way by taking into account existing formal and informal institutions and the level of development of the national economy. Originality/value – This paper by using SEM techniques examines the causal relationships between the quality of formal and informal institutions and productivity of entrepreneurs at the national level.
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Njoda Mathurin, Tchakounté, and Hamit Halou Chalout. "Income Concentration, Market Size and Informal Sector in Africa." INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 5, no. 1 (2019): 7–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.51.2001.
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In this study, we analyze the link between income concentration and the size of the informal sector. We construct a simple model where income concentration determines demand and firms decide whether to operate in the formal or the informal economy is outlined. The government collects taxes and returns them to society either as a productive public good for its use by formal firms or as transfers to the poor. It is further postulated that income distribution affects the response of the informal sector to different fiscal policies, either demand or supply-orientated. In this case, redistribution towards the middle class decreases the size of the informal sector and increases the capacity of fiscal instruments to reduce informality. Data concerns 38 Africans’ countries in which the characteristic of income distribution is similar across countries. Using this comparable macro-level panel data between 1991 and 2013, we find strong evidence that high-income concentration leads to a large informal sector. Furthermore, an economic policy, including the effective application of the tax and regulatory procedures, should help to keep down the size of the informal economy.
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Tahir, Nadia, and Pervez Tahir. "Is Informal Sector Employment Marginal to Formal Sector Growth?" Pakistan Development Review 51, no. 4II (2012): 543–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.30541/v51i4iipp.543-564.
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Pakistan has adopted a neoliberal regime to open the economy to global competition and reduce the role of the state. This directional change brought increased flow of overseas remittances, speculative investment, and consumerism. Consequently, the economy in mid-2000s grew but commodity-producing sector contracted. Public sector spending has been falling, especially on social sectors. There are inadequate provisions for social security and employment based income guarantees. However, this growth and stability was short lived and there is now a fragile state and slowing economy. In the absence of an effective regulatory role of the state, and due to the failure in developing a long-term strategy to harness the labour force potential, there is a huge informal sector existing side by side with the formal economy. Almost 22 million of the employed labour force is earning its livelihood in streets and the government has no record of it. The informal workers can be categorised as self-employed workers and wage workers, doing diversified jobs from petty traders to small producers and from rickshaw driver to shoe shiners. It is difficult to measure the value added contribution of the informal sector in Pakistan. Indirect estimation approaches on the basis of employment and hours worked have been used to estimate the contribution of informal economy. For instance, Idris (2008) estimates the share at 36.8 percent of GNP, which is significant. Arby, Malik and Hanif (2010) measured the size of informal economy in Pakistan through a monetary approach. They find that the size has declined considerably.
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Lewis, Andrew. "The Path to Sustainable Development through the Splitting of the Foreign Exchange Reserves." Journal of Management and Sustainability 6, no. 2 (2016): 97. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jms.v6n2p97.
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<p>This paper presents a theoretical equation that when used shows the impact that the foreign exchange reserves have on the overall health of an economy such as the case with Jamaica. The equation also has variables that demonstrate this case assuming no “official and unofficial” or “formal and informal” sectors. If there is a definitive split between both sectors so that the unofficial economy can make an impact on the formal economy, the splitting of the reserves can provide support for the “informal economy” as this sector can catalyze the formal economy potentially providing higher economic growth. It is shown through statistical data that the correlation can have an impact if the economy is split in two to show the positive relationship this can have on the Jamaican economy as a whole.</p>
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Naicker, Nisha, Frank Pega, David Rees, Spo Kgalamono, and Tanusha Singh. "Health Services Use and Health Outcomes among Informal Economy Workers Compared with Formal Economy Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 6 (2021): 3189. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063189.
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Background: There are approximately two billion workers in the informal economy globally. Compared to workers in the formal economy, these workers are often marginalised with minimal or no benefits from occupational health and safety regulations, labour laws, social protection and/or health care. Thus, informal economy workers may have higher occupational health risks compared to their formal counterparts. Our objective was to systematically review and meta-analyse evidence on relative differences (or inequalities) in health services use and health outcomes among informal economy workers, compared with formal economy workers. Methods: We searched PubMed and EMBASE in March 2020 for studies published in 1999–2020. The eligible population was informal economy workers. The comparator was formal economy workers. The eligible outcomes were general and occupational health services use, fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries, HIV, tuberculosis, musculoskeletal disorders, depression, noise-induced hearing loss and respiratory infections. Two authors independently screened records, extracted data, assessed risk of bias with RoB-SPEO, and assessed quality of evidence with GRADE. Inverse variance meta-analyses were conducted with random effects. Results: Twelve studies with 1,637,297 participants from seven countries in four WHO regions (Africa, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific) were included. Compared with formal economy workers, informal economy workers were found to be less likely to use any health services (odds ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.85–0.94, four studies, 195,667 participants, I2 89%, low quality of evidence) and more likely to have depression (odds ratio 5.02, 95% confidence interval 2.72–9.27, three studies, 26,260 participants, I2 87%, low quality of evidence). We are very uncertain about the other outcomes (very-low quality of evidence). Conclusion: Informal economy workers may be less likely than formal economy workers to use any health services and more likely to have depression. The evidence is uncertain for relative differences in the other eligible outcomes. Further research is warranted to strengthen the current body of evidence and needed to improve population health and reduce health inequalities among workers.
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Kim, Anna. "Labor Market Migrations: Immigrant Intersections in the Informal Economy." AAPI Nexus Journal: Policy, Practice, and Community 10, no. 1 (2012): 75–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.36650/nexus10.1_75-99_kim.
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This study argues that many workers in Asian enclave economies move between both formal and informal employment. Scholars and other commentators have often framed “immigrant work,” as static, exploitative, and characterized by illegal arrangements, while formal employment has provided mobility, better pay, and important fringe benefits, including health care and paid vacations. The relationship between formal and informal labor markets, however, may be more intertwined in an ethnic enclave economy. Drawn from the experiences of Korean and Latino immigrant workers from Los Angeles’ Koreatown, the qualitative data presented here show that many workers move back and forth in a “blended” or “mixed” labor market, in a pattern that complicates conventional understandings of the working lives of immigrant laborers.
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S. M. P., Senanayake, Wimalaratana W., and Premaratne S. P. "Informal Sector and the Economy in Sri Lanka: A Survey of Literature." Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies 22, no. 03 (2015): 141–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.24311/jabes/2015.22.3.07.
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It is customary to include all economic activities that are not officially regulated as informal sector activities. The usual definitions used to distinguish the informal sector from the formal one appear to be problematic or fussy at their edges. This dichotomy is not mutually exclusive as often thought but is in fact interdependent in many respects. It is also argued that informal enterprises often move upwards in a hierarchy of organizational forms and finally end up as formal sector units through vertical linkages. The informal sector provides jobs for very vulnerable low-income groups in rural and urban sectors while contributing to the GDP immensely in developing countries. This paper critically examines the nature of the informal sector in Sri Lanka and studies the links between the informal sector and its economy. The analysis entirely employs secondary data and information. The findings of the study demonstrate that the domestic (traditional) agriculture and related activities in Sri Lanka are dominated by the informal sector, which in turn is further strengthened by underworld activities. The fear of tax burden, bribes, bureaucratic bungling, archaic rules and regulations, and lack of dividends in formal activities drive many people from the formal sector to the informal one. The informal sector provides jobs and reduces unemployment and underemployment, but in many cases the jobs are low paying and job security is poor. It bolsters entrepreneurial activities, but at the detriment of state regulations’ compliance, particularly regarding tax and labor regulations.
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Williams, Colin C., and Ioana Alexandra Horodnic. "Evaluating working conditions in the informal economy: Evidence from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey." International Sociology 34, no. 3 (2019): 281–306. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0268580919836666.
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Although it is widely held that working conditions in the informal economy are worse than in the formal economy, little evidence has been so far provided. The aim of this article is to fill this lacuna by comparing the working conditions of informal employees with formal employees using the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis provides a nuanced and variegated appreciation of which working conditions are worse for informal employees, which are no different, and which are better for informal than formal employees. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications.
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Yelwa, Mohammed, and A. J. Adam. "Informality and Economic Growth in Nigeria: 1980-2014." Journal of Economics and Public Finance 3, no. 3 (2017): 405. http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v3n3p405.
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<p><em>The paper examines the impact of informal sector activities on economic growth in Nigeria between 1980-2014. The contributions of informal sector activities to the growth of Nigerian economy cannot be over emphasized. It is the source of livelihood to the majority of poor, unskilled, socially marginalized and female population and is the vital means of survival for the people in the country lacking proper safety nets and unemployment insurance especially those lacking skills from formal sector jobs. The relationship between informality and economic growth is not clear because the sector is not regulated by the law also there is no concrete evidence that this sector enhances growth because the sector’s contributions to growth is not measured. The use of endogenous growth model becomes relevant in this study. The theory emphasizes the role of production on the long-run via a higher rate of technological innovation. The variables that were tested are official economy nominal GDP, informal economy nominal GDP, currency in circulation, demand deposit, ratio of currency in circulation to demand deposit, narrow money, informal economy as percentage of official economy. ADF test was conducted to establish that the data series of all variables are stationary t levels. Having established the stationarity test we also, conducted causality test of the response of official economy nominal GDP to informal economy nominal GDP. In conclusion, the impact of informal sector economy on economic growth in Nigeria is quiet commendable. Even though, the relationship between informality and economic growth is not straight. The paper recommended thus, the need for the government to integrate the activities of the informal economy into formal sector and size of the sector is measured and regulated because their roles are commendable. As it will improve tax collection and enhance fiscal policy.</em></p>
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Linz, Susan J., and Gary Krueger. "Enterprise Restructuring in Russia's Transition Economy: Formal and Informal Mechanisms." Comparative Economic Studies 40, no. 2 (1998): 5–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/ces.1998.10.
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Bentkowska, Katarzyna. "Formal and Informal Institutions’ Changes in the Sharing Economy Development." EUROPEAN RESEARCH STUDIES JOURNAL XXIV, Special Issue 1 (2021): 362–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.35808/ersj/2047.
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Mercado, Mauricio. "Towards the Transition of Informal Sectors to the Formal Economy." Academy of Management Proceedings 2021, no. 1 (2021): 14516. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2021.14516abstract.
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VERMA, Aayushi, and Pawan KUMAR MISRA. "Informal Market in Urban Setting in India: A Sociological Review." PRIZREN SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL 5, no. 2 (2021): 110–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.32936/pssj.v5i2.242.
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The formal and the informal market are two significant parts of the economy in India. However, the portion of the informal sector is more when contrasted with the formal one. The informal share of market, which eventually bolsters the conventional economy, is expanding step by step. These informal Markets give a special topic of sociological examination with regards to the informal economy. This paper intends to sociologically contextualize street vendors and weekly markets in the triangle shaped by the urban space, informal economy and state, and see how informal ness is conjured in formal metropolitan circle. This examination through different past investigations attempted to comprehend vendors profile of these market and their conduct with shoppers and among themselves. This paper investigates the profile of consumer and their conduct in urban weekly market. The conduct that the consumers show in looking for, buying, utilizing, assessing and discarding items and services that they expect will fulfil their necessities. Consumer behaviour is impacted by different components like individual, ecological and dynamic. This examination utilizes distinctive other recently distributed attempts to comprehend the idea of weekly market. Further this article also brings into light various problems faced by these informal markets and also talks about policies and legislation brought by government for their betterment.
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Nordstrom, Carolyn. "Women, economy, war." International Review of the Red Cross 92, no. 877 (2010): 161–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1816383110000263.
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AbstractPolitical violence amplifies contemporary trends occurring worldwide in the twenty-first century: globalization, an increasing reliance on the informal economy, a shift from twentieth-century manufacturing to resource and labour wildcatting, and the growth of complex international extra-legal trade networks. Women are central to all of these, though their roles both as leaders of development and victims of violence are often overlooked in mainstream analyses. To explain these invisibilities, this article introduces the concept of vanishing points – places where formal analyses and policy effectively cease, such as the dividing lines between formal and informal economies, and the violence associated with controlling extra-legal profits that is effectively invisible to the public at large. The realities of women's work amid political violence and postwar development, and across the spectrum of in/formality are explored. The conclusions serve to challenge established notions of power, profit, and economy, and the role of gender within these.
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E. Sekerka, Leslie, and Derek Stimel. "Embracing waste as a resource: insights from the informal sector." Management Research Review 37, no. 3 (2014): 241–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mrr-11-2012-0254.
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Purpose – This article aims to draw insight from a variety of management disciplines to encourage a broader view of the economy as it relates to sustainable waste management (SWM) development. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a framework to describe how strengths can be blended to support environmental sustainability (ES), highlighting the need for community cooperation between the informal and formal sectors of the economy. Findings – Unique contributions for SWM can emerge from both economic sectors and, when leveraged, may drive community development within local municipalities. Practical implications – The platform addresses the need for more flexible governmental policies that encourage waste management activities among formal and informal workers. Originality/value – The paper brings forward typically disregarded ES waste management opportunities that reside within the informal sector, an often overlooked aspect of the broader economy.
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Williams, Colin C., and Sara Nadin. "Evaluating the Nature of the Relationship between Informal Entrepreneurship and the Formal Economy in Rural Communities." International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 12, no. 2 (2011): 95–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.5367/ijei.2011.0028.
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This paper evaluates critically the different theorizations of the nature of the relationship between informal entrepreneurship and the formal economy, which variously depict informal entrepreneurship as a leftover from a previous era, a survival practice for those excluded from the formal economy, and a complement or an alternative to participation in the formal economy. Reporting evidence from 350 face-to-face interviews in English rural communities, no single theorization is found to be universally applicable. Instead, all are shown to be valid in relation to different forms of informal entrepreneurship, and only by combining them is it feasible to achieve a finer-grained, more comprehensive explanation of this complex and multifarious phenomenon.
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Garcia-Murillo, Martha, and Jorge Andres Velez-Ospina. "ICTs and the informal economy: mobile and broadband roles." Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance 19, no. 1 (2017): 58–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/dprg-02-2016-0004.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether information and communication technologies (ICTs) can move people from the informal to the formal sector. ICTs being multipurpose technologies can provide people with information about education, employment opportunities and government services that may potentially allow them to migrate to the formal sector. Design/methodology/approach The model includes variables that researchers have found to contribute to the growth of informality, such as the state of the economy, the impact of excessive taxes, the impact of regulation, the level of poverty and, of course, ICT metrics, specifically access to both cell phones and broadband as the main two mechanisms through which individuals in the informal sector can obtain information. The analysis relies on a multiple indicators and multiple causes statistical model, to evaluate the hard-to-measure informal economy. A panel data set of 170 countries covering a period of five years was used. Findings It was found that ICTs empower people, but such empowerment is not always positive for society. So, while mobile phones reduce transaction costs of informal business, this leads to their growth, as they are only a coordination technology. The empowerment that comes from broadband, meaning greater and deeper access to information and resources, can help reduce this sector of the economy and potentially improve these individuals’ lives as well. Research limitations/implications Measurement of the informal sector is a challenge to researchers precisely because it is hidden. This, like other work in this area, relies on estimates from indirect measures of the informal sector. The results are to be interpreted with caution. In addition, given that this research relies on country-level data, any specific policy decision will have to take particular circumstances into consideration to adapt these results to a specific context. Practical implications This study is important because of the more nuanced effect found between narrow and broadband technologies with respect to the informal economy and because of its policy implications. Given the results, governments should consider broadband as an additional tool to help individuals make the transition from the informal to the formal sector. Social implications Once an individual who works in the informal sector begins to realize the advantages of moving to the formal sector, it with the help of ICTs. This awareness could potentially lead to a slow but steady migration away from the informal economy that can improve the economic conditions of the population in these countries. Originality/value Scholars up to this point have been quite enthusiastic about the benefits of ICTs. In this paper, it was found that the effects are not always positive; a mobile does not help people move away from poverty and, in fact, supports the informal sector. It was found that only broadband can help these entrepreneurs move into the formal sector.
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Williams, Colin C., and Abbi Kedir. "Evaluating competing theories of informal sector entrepreneurship." International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 19, no. 3 (2018): 155–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1465750318782766.
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To advance understanding of the reasons for informal sector entrepreneurship, this article evaluates the determinants of cross-country variations in the extent to which enterprises are unregistered when they start operating. Reporting the World Bank Enterprise Survey data on 67,515 enterprises across 142 countries, the finding is that one in five (19.9%) of the formal enterprises surveyed started-up unregistered, although this varies from all enterprises surveyed in some countries (e.g. Pakistan) to 1% of surveyed enterprises in Slovakia. To explain these cross-country variations, four competing theories are evaluated which variously assert that nonregistration is determined by either: economic under-development and poorer quality governance (modernization theory); too much state interference (neoliberal theory); too little state intervention (political economy theory); or an incongruence between the laws and rules of formal institutions and the beliefs, values, and norms of informal institutions (institutional theory). A multilevel probit regression analysis confirms the modernization, political economy, and institutional theories but not neoliberal theory. Beyond economic under-development, therefore, nonregistration is associated with too little state intervention and the rules of formal institutions being incongruent with the socially shared beliefs of entrepreneurs. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications of these findings.
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Tuominen, Mary. "The Hidden Organization of Labor: Gender, Race/Ethnicity and Child-Care Work in the Formal and Informal Economy." Sociological Perspectives 37, no. 2 (1994): 229–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1389321.
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While extensive studies document the need for child care in the United States, little has been done to explore the organization of child-care work or its political economic context. The article explores, both empirically and theoretically, the organization of child-care work in the United States. While formal child-care centers emerged as the fastest-growing source of child care for employed parents in the last 25 years, informal arrangements continue to serve as the source of over 75% of child care for employed parents in the United States. Given the vast provision of child care in settings outside of formal markets, informal-sector economic theory appeared a potentially viable framework for elucidating the organization of child-care work. Informal-sector theory clearly assists in identifying many forms of production existing outside of the formal market economy. Even so, informal-sector theorists show a proclivity to define and analyze labor according to the norms of formal market production. Also, theories rooted in the norms of the formal market economy fail to fully analyze care-giving work, work historically performed by women outside of formal markets. In order to accurately analyze and theorize the organization of care-giving work, political economic theories must explicitly incorporate women's household and domestic labor. By so doing theories will more fully demonstrate the ways in which gender and race/ethnicity serve as the fundamental structures organizing the work of care-giving.
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Mughal, Khurrum S., and Friedrich G. Schneider. "How Informal Sector Affects the Formal Economy in Pakistan? A Lesson for Developing Countries." South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance 9, no. 1 (2020): 7–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2277978719898975.
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We explore the interaction of the informal sector with the formal economy for a developing economy, that is, Pakistan. Estimation results are obtained via autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach, which show a significantly positive effect of the informal sector in the long run whereas a negative impact of informal sector is found in the short run. We also present dynamic simulations to show the effect/contribution in terms of revised GDP per capita if the informal sector is accounted for in official statistics. The novelty of results is the varying effects of the informal sector across two time horizons that can have serious policy implications for developing and transition economies with large informal sectors. Although, the findings of this article enrich our understanding on the behaviour of the informal sector, they further fuel the debate associated with eradication of the informal sector. Efforts to curb informal activities may burden the low-skilled workforce in this sector and increase corruption opportunities in bureaucracy in the absence of institutional reforms. On the contrary, it makes the formal sector policy design and implementation a challenging task. JEL Classification: E26, H26, K42, O17
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Kuznetsova, Irina V. "INFORMALITY OF THE RUSSIAN LABOUR MARKET." Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 18. Sociology and Political Science 25, no. 2 (2019): 116–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.24290/1029-3736-2019-25-2-116-132.
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Informal employment is one of the labour markets’ modern trends in the developed and developing countries. The author performs a review of informal economic activity researches. In particular, the concept of dual economy and its transformation are considered. The author pays attention to the K. Hart’s consepton that changed the prevalent opposition “modern-traditional” sectors of the economy to “formal-informal”. Due to Hart’s researches the informal sector was called the main source of the Third World countries’ development by ILO. Hart himself defining the essence of the informal sector based on Weber’s theory of modernization. According to it, genesis of capitalism demands development of a production and management rational organization. So informality is associated with a special degree of organization, not with a production scale or its productivity. The industrial society is characterized by formal or standard employment. In the postindustrial period other forms of employment appear under the influence of new informational technologies. The informal employment became normal and immanently inherent in the modern society. But typical doesn’t always mean positive. The wide spread of informality is the main challenge to the sustainable development of the modern countries. An informal employment growth on the national labour market is one of the main problems. The negative consequences of the informal employment practice are: on the one hand, violation of labour rights, and, on the other hand — underinvestment of the state budget. As far as a Russians’ subjective opinion on the informal status of employment is concerned, the researches didn’t find any real correlation between being informal employed and self-esteem. The difference between the formal and informal employment for a Russian employees isn’t considerable. The employed Russian population feels equal uncomfortable in the formal and informal sectors. The phenomenon indicates low quality of the formal sector’s institutions.
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Sharma, Bishnu Prasad, and Dipak Bahadur Adhikari. "Informal Economy and Poverty Dynamics: A Review." Quest Journal of Management and Social Sciences 2, no. 1 (2020): 130–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/qjmss.v2i1.29028.
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Background: The informal economy is an important phenomenon in developing countries. In recent years there has been an increasing policy interest in the informal economy and its poverty dynamics.
 Objective: This paper explores the relationship between the informal economy and poverty through literature review of internet based open access resources published from 2000 to 2019.
 Method: Many empirical studies in our review have shown that informal employment has a causal impact on household poverty. This paper seeks to evaluate how informal economy through the theoretical lens applied to real world problems and explore the potential value of empirical evidences in progressing new understandings of the linkage between informal economy and poverty.
 Findings: Informal economy is the main source of livelihood for marginalized and poor and earnings from this sector have had a strong impact on the household livelihood. It is important that policymakers recognize the informal economy as a positive contribution to poverty, especially in countries where formal economic activities are less in operation.
 Conclusions: This study identifies the role of informal economy in poverty dynamics and important policy debates which provide directions to improve the quality and consistency for future research.
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WILLIAMS, COLIN C., and ABBI KEDIR. "EXPLAINING CROSS-NATIONAL VARIATIONS IN THE PREVALENCE OF INFORMAL SECTOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP: LESSONS FROM A SURVEY OF 142 COUNTRIES." Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 23, no. 01 (2018): 1850005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s108494671850005x.
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The aim of this paper is to evaluate four competing theoretical perspectives that explain cross-national variations in the level of informal sector entrepreneurship. Scholarship has until now argued that informal entrepreneurship is a result of either: economic under-development and a lack of modernization of governance (modernization theory); high taxes and state over-interference (neo-liberal theory); inadequate state intervention to protect workers from poverty (political economy theory) or the asymmetry between the laws and regulations of formal institutions and the unwritten socially shared rules of informal institutions (institutional theory). Reporting the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) on the varying prevalence of informal entrepreneurship across 142 countries, the finding is that neo-liberal theory is refuted but the tenets of the modernization, political economy and institutional theories are confirmed. Informal entrepreneurship is found to be significantly higher when there is economic under-development, a lack of modernization of governance, inadequate state intervention to protect workers from poverty and greater asymmetry between the formal and informal institutions. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications of these findings.
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Mukorera, Sophia. "Growth Constraints of Formal and Informal Micro and Small -Scale Enterprises and Their Impact on Policy Formulation in Zimbabwe." Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies 10, no. 3(J) (2018): 234–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v10i3.2330.
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The new view on MSEs in the informal sector perceives them as being permanent, stable activities comprised of dynamic businesses that affect most economic activities. As such, they need to be considered in economic policies to ensure that they can grow and contribute to the national economy. In Zimbabwe, policies for entrepreneurial development are mainly informed by formal - sector enterprises. This study analysed the similarities and differences in the growth constraints of MSEs operating in the formal and informal sectors in Harare, Zimbabwe . Using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis, the study analysed 21 internal and external growth constraints. The findings were that formal - sector MSEs perceive internal factors as constraining them the most, while informal MSEs perceive external factors as constraining them the most. The study concludes that a common policy approach cannot work in addressing the needs of the two sectors. Sector- specific policies need to be formulated in order for the enterprises in both sectors to fully contribute to the national economy.
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Williams, Colin C., and Ioana A. Horodnic. "Explaining the Prevalence of the Informal Economy in the Baltics: an Institutional Asymmetry Perspective." European Spatial Research and Policy 22, no. 2 (2015): 127–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/esrp-2015-0029.
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Reporting a 2013 Eurobarometer survey of participation in the informal economy across eight Baltic countries, this paper tentatively explains the informal economy from an institutional perspective as associated with the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of the formal institutions (state morality) and the norms, values and beliefs of citizens (civic morality). Identifying that this non-alignment of civic morality with the formal rules is more acute when there is greater poverty and inequality, less effective redistribution and lower levels of state intervention in the labour market and welfare, the implications for theorising and tackling the informal economy are then discussed.
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Harriss-White, Barbara. "Formality and informality in an Indian urban waste economy." International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 37, no. 7/8 (2017): 417–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijssp-07-2016-0084.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute original evidence about the conditions for formal and informal contracts for commodities and labour in the waste economy of a South Indian town. Design/methodology/approach Field research was exploratory, based on snowball sampling and urban traversing. The analysis follows capital and labour in the sub-circuits of capital generating waste in production, distribution, consumption, the production of labour and the reproduction of society. Findings Regardless of legal regulation, which is selectively enforced, formal contracts are limited to active inspection regimes; direct transactions with or within the state; and long-distance transactions. Formal labour contracts are least incomplete for state employment, and for relatively scarce skilled labour in the private sector. Research limitations/implications The research design does not permit quantified generalisations. Practical implications Waste management technology evaluations neglect the social costs of displacing a large informal labour force. Social implications While slowly dissolving occupational barriers of untouchability, the waste economy is a low-status labour absorber of last resort, exit from which is extremely difficult. Originality/value The first systematic exploration of formal and informal contracts in an Indian small-town waste economy.
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Campbell, Stephen. "Migrant Waste Collectors in Thailand’s Informal Economy." European Journal of East Asian Studies 17, no. 2 (2018): 263–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700615-01702003.
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Abstract Recent scholarship on primitive accumulation and deagrarianisation in the global South has addressed a decline in formal employment prospects, leaving most ex-peasants (and their heirs) struggling to earn a livelihood in the informal economy. Taking this phenomenon as a point of departure, and drawing on the case of migrant waste collectors in Mae Sot, Thailand, this article examines the multiple ways that waste collectors are embedded in informal relations of production and exchange. This variable relational embeddedness has implications, it is argued, for the forms of struggle available to those engaged in informal labour.
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Slack, Tim, Michael R. Cope, Leif Jensen, and Ann R. Tickamyer. "Social embeddedness, formal labor supply, and participation in informal work." International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 37, no. 3/4 (2017): 248–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijssp-02-2016-0022.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze data from the first-ever national-level study of informal work in the USA to test two prominent points of focus in the literature: how participation in informal work relates to social embeddedness and formal labor supply. This paper also provides a comparative test of the factors associated with exchange-based informal work (i.e. money/barter) vs self-provisioning activities. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on data from a national-level household telephone survey and uses descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. Findings The data show that participation in the informal economy is widespread in the USA. Consistent with theory, it is found that measures of social embeddedness and formal labor supply are much more salient for predicting participation in informal work for money/barter compared to self-provisioning. Originality/value Drawing on unique data from the first national-level household survey of informal work in the USA, this study provides generalizable support for the contention that the informal sector stands as a persistent structural feature in modern society. The results build on the wealth of information produced by qualitative case studies examining informal economic activity as well as a smaller number of regionally targeted surveys to provide important theoretical insights.
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WILLIAMS, COLIN C., and BO LIU. "EXPLAINING VARIATIONS IN THE COMMONALITY OF INFORMAL SECTOR COMPETITION ACROSS LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES." Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 24, no. 01 (2019): 1950002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s108494671950002x.
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To advance understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurship and the informal sector, the aim of this paper is to evaluate and explain variations in the extent to which formal enterprises witness competition from unregistered or informal enterprises across Latin American and Caribbean countries. Reporting World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data on 31 Latin American and Caribbean countries, this reveals that two-thirds (65.5 percent) of formal enterprises witness competition from informal sector enterprise. To explain the cross-country variations, four competing theories are evaluated, which variously view the prevalence of the informal sector to be determined by either: economic under-development (modernization theory); high taxes and state over-interference (neo-liberal theory); too little state intervention (political economy theory), or an asymmetry between the laws and regulations of formal institutions and the unwritten socially shared rules of informal institutions (institutional theory). A probit regression analysis confirms the modernization, political economy and institutional theories, but not the neo-liberal theory. Beyond economic under-development, therefore, it is too little state intervention and whether the laws and regulations developed by governments are in symmetry with the norms, values and beliefs of entrepreneurs. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications of these findings.