ABSTRACT
Another issue is whether the formal–informal model provides a true representation of the relations between two distinct segments of the economy. It has long been recognised that even those activities that are least capitalist-like in their form are intimately linked into the capitalist system. From street-vendors who sell the products of international tobacco companies to recyclers whose glass and metal re-enters the capitalist production process, there are backwards and forwards linkages that tie the informal to the formal. Artisans rely on the formal sector for their inputs, such as tools and raw materials, but that this relationship has changed over time. Technology and materials have changed and these have had an impact on relations with suppliers. A significant aspect of their experience, however, has been the decline in the quality of some of their inputs as a result of globalisation and the spread of low-quality Chinese tools and materials, which has an impact on the investment possibilities of microenterprises.
