ABSTRACT
Everyone seems to agree about the need to formalise informal economic activities: it seems so obviously desirable (both for employment and for enterprises) that it is usually seen as a no-brainer, scarcely requiring further discussion. The extraordinary outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated collapse of economic activity across the world have only reinforced this perception. In this situation, the worst material impacts are already being felt by informal workers, who face a dismal spectrum of probabilities of loss of livelihood, from declining earnings among the self-employed to job losses among paid workers. They are significantly worse off than formal workers in general, but in a downturn, their situation becomes relatively even worse. They are outside the scope of most legal and social protection, and, therefore, do not receive the compensation or benefits that workers with formal contracts would get, nor are they likely to benefit from various forms of state assistance such as payroll support to employers. This makes the extent of informal employment across the world a major concern.
