ABSTRACT
Feige (2003) notes that a variety of terms are used to designate the informal economy, including the gray market unreported economy, clandestine economy, unrecorded market, second market, and the shadow
economy. Other more narrow concepts of the informal economy equate it to the “black market,” which is a system for the purchase and sale of totally illegal goods and services. However, this concept is too narrow, since not all activities related to the informal economy are illegal and the person who engages in an informal economy transaction may or may not be committing a crime, depending on the circumstances, context, and even the laws of the country in which the transaction takes place.
