ABSTRACT
Informality is ubiquitous in most developing countries. Understanding the informal economy is therefore of utmost importance from a political, economic and social point of view. Paradoxically, despite its economic importance, knowledge is extremely limited regarding the informal economy. It remains largely unrecognized by researchers, is neglected by politicians, and is even negatively perceived as it is meant to disappear with development.
This book aims to amend this situation by presenting recent high level research which studies the informal sector and informal employment. Fresh research into this subject is presented through empirical analysis which covers Asia, Africa and Latin America. Each chapter relies on data and a detailed knowledge of the context of the countries studied in order to question the dominant schools of thought on the origins and causes of informality. The results provide interesting insights into the constraints faced by informal workers, the dynamics of the informal economy and its link with poverty issues. On the basis of the evidences provided by results adequate policies could be defined to address informality issues.
The principal characteristics of the informal sector testify to some profound similarities between developing countries: low qualifications and the precariousness of jobs, mediocre incomes and working conditions, atomization of production units and lack of articulation with the formal economy, etc. This general statement does not contradict the observation that there is a high level of heterogeneity in the sector and in informal employment within each country, confirmed by several chapters in this work. In the absence of a sufficient number of job creations, the informal sector essentially constitutes a refuge for workers seeking and is here to stay in the short and medium term, even in emerging countries.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|110 pages
Sector allocation between formal and informal employment
chapter 1|29 pages
Labor informality and poverty in Latin America
chapter 2|24 pages
Working in the informal sector
chapter 3|19 pages
Being an informal self-employed from one generation to the next
chapter 5|18 pages
Social insurance and informal economy in Vietnam
part II|102 pages
Economic, institutional and social constraints
chapter 6|25 pages
Efficiency of informal production units and its determinants
chapter 8|18 pages
Does corruption matter for informal sector economic performance?
chapter 9|18 pages
Does forced solidarity hamper entrepreneurial activity?
chapter 10|16 pages
The political economy of micro entrepreneurship
part III|96 pages
Micro macro dynamics and poverty