Employing a unique dataset that covers almost 6000 informal enterprises from six West African urban centers, this paper … of the existing formal-informal linkages. It turns out that formal backward linkages are much more prevalent than formal … performance only indirectly through their linkages to the formal sector. -- Informal sector ; formal-informal linkages …

We develop a model where formal sector firms pay tax and informal ones do not, but informal firms risk incurring the … when they cannot find a salary job. For these workers self-employment is a secondary/informal form of employment. The … informal wage penalty does appear to be limited to low wage/skill workers while firm size is an important determinant of the …

workers self-employment is a secondary/informal form of employment. The Burdett and Mortensen (1998) equilibrium search model …