ABSTRACT

In this chapter, grounded in Indian conditions, recent advances in theory and research are discussed and theoretical challenges and research gaps for the future are discussed. The advances include the deliberate creation of the informal sector by the state; the selective engagement with regulative laws; contractualisation and privatisation; austerity and the necessity of informal work; informality and criminality; the regionalisation of informality and the solidary economy. Useful future research includes the status of self-employment and economic expansion through the multiplication of small work-units; the implications of the informal sector for a low carbon transition and the implications of informality for policy.