Given that 60 per cent of the global workforce is in the informal sector, this article develops a typology that classifies economies according to, firstly, where different countries sit on a continuum of informalization and, secondly, the character of their informal sectors. This is then applied...

Purpose – The magnitude of the informal economy has been estimated using either indirect measurement methods that employ proxy indicators or small-scale household surveys. This paper seeks to provide an analysis of the findings of the first direct survey in an advanced market economy of...

To evaluate the validity of distinguishing between opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship, this paper investigates the motives of entrepreneurs who conduct some or all of their transactions on an off-the-books basis. Reporting empirical evidence from England on the motives of such...

This paper evaluates critically the neo-liberal perspective which contends that informal employment results from high taxes, public sector corruption and too much state interference in the free market and that the consequent remedy is to reduce taxes, public sector corruption and the regulatory...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically the gender variations in informal sector entrepreneurship. Until now, a widely-held belief has been that entrepreneurs operating in the informal sector in developing nations are lowly paid, poorly educated, marginalized populations doing so out of...

Since the turn of the millennium, there has been widespread recognition that the informal economy is a sizeable and growing feature in the global economy. To explain this, neo-liberals have contended that the informal economy is a direct result of over-regulation, high taxes and state...

PurposeProviding support to off-the-books business start-ups to help them make the transition to legitimacy could be a novel and effective method of creating new legitimate business ventures. The aim of this paper is to advance understanding of why some business start-ups operate off-the-books...

The analysis of employment relations needs to include work in the informal economy. For this purpose, we propose a ‘degrees of informalization' framework that evaluates the proportion of employment relations infused with informality and the nature of this permeation. We apply this framework to...

The aim of this introductory article is to provide a critical overview of how informality has been defined and measured, together with selected findings on its extent and character, and a summary of competing views regarding its role in contemporary economies and how it can be tackled. The...

For much of the previous century, the informal sector was largely represented as a residue of a previous mode of production confined to marginal populations and gradually disappearing due to the inevitable and natural shift towards the formal economy across the globe. Over the past quarter of a...