ABSTRACT
In this chapter I argue through the use of both quantitative and qualitative data that the theoretical meaning of “informality” is per se insufficient to explain the process of change that the informal economy in Italy is undergoing. For a more comprehensive understanding of current trends, an analysis should look at the articulation between formal and informal arrangements of employment that actors continuously reshape to escape forms of regulation. The Italian case is of particular interest because it encompasses differently characterized regional economies-the networked firms (or industrial districts) in small urban centers, the urban economy of large cities, and the unevenly (un)developed south. It shows how in these different regional economies, old and newly established forms of informal and formal activities are intertwined and operate at different levels of relationship networks.
