ABSTRACT
In today’s global economy, two billion people – more than 61 percent of the world’s employed population – make their living in the informal economy. This chapter seeks to enhance our understanding of the informal economy by pulling together the perspectives and analyses of three dozen well-known scholars of the informal economy. It summarises the recent rethinking on the informal economy, starting with their analysis of how past perceptions and policies regarding the informal economy, dating back a century or more, are reflected in current perceptions and policies. The chapter describes how the informal economy has been perceived historically in three domains of theory, research and policy: economic growth and industrial development; labour markets, labour rights and organising; and urban planning and design. But global and regional averages mask significant differences in economic development and informal economies, even within regions, that must be taken into account in mapping out the implications for workers and policy.
