ABSTRACT
Traditional perspectives on the "informal" sector in developing countries have downplayed its significance for the larger economy, choosing to focus more intensely upon the "formal" sector of wage laborers. Such views are influential on Third World policy-makers, who have tended to favor formal-sector employees, often at the neglect of informal-sector workers. In many cases, women constitute the majority of workers in the informal sector of developing economies. As can be seen in Nicaragua, government policies during the 1970s through the 1990s had a dramatic impact on informally employed women and the economic viability of their households. The resulting political tensions eventually helped undermine popular support for the revolutionary Sandinista government (1979-1990), this despite its commitment to radical reforms designed to improve the social conditions of women. The case of Nicaragua underlines the need for further research on the informal sector so as to provide correctives to traditional approaches while contributing to more informed policy-making.
