ABSTRACT
Informal economy market vendors in Zambia face a number of detrimental institutional voids in their business environments. Besides operating in markets characterized by a poor level of maintenance and security and insufficient trading space, informal economy market vendors are generally unable to access basic business support and business development financing (WoW 2006). The informal economy in itself is an ambiguous term and is thus difficult to empirically measure (Portes and Haller 2005). However, a survey conducted in 2004 by the Zambian Central Statistical Office found that as much as 83% of the total Zambian labor force was engaged in the informal economy (91% of the female labor force and 76% of male) (WoW 2006). Another study found that the informal economy in Zambia accounted for 48.9% of total GDP in 1999/2000 (Schneider 2002). Employment in the informal economy takes many forms, with market vending being among the most significant. Most markets in Zambia are under the administration of the Zambian Ministry of Local Government and Housing and are managed by Town/Municipal Councils through a Market Master and Market Advisory Committee.
