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Informal Employment and Development: Patterns of Inclusion and Exclusion

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  • Martha Chen

    (Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Graduate School of Design, WIEGO Network, Cambridge, USA.)

Abstract

At present, there is renewed interest in the informal economy worldwide. This renewed interest has rekindled some of the old debates about the phenomenon. This article will address two of the core debates: first, whether or not the informal economy is linked to the formal economy and modern capitalist development; and, second, whether or not the informal economy is outside the reach of government regulation. In so doing, it will raise a third dimension largely overlooked in the debates: the exclusion of the informal economy in economic development planning, especially at the local level. The article concludes with reflections on the exclusion of informal employment in local planning (by government) despite its inclusion in global production (through the market) and a vision for more inclusive approaches to economic development that take into account the size, composition, contribution and dynamics of the informal economy today.

Suggested Citation

  • Martha Chen, 2014. "Informal Employment and Development: Patterns of Inclusion and Exclusion," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 26(4), pages 397-418, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:26:y:2014:i:4:p:397-418
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    Cited by:

    1. Salmon Mugoda & Stephen Esaku & Rose Kibuka Nakimu & Edward Bbaale & Robert Read, 2020. "The portrait of Uganda’s informal sector: What main obstacles do the sector face?," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 1843255-184, January.
    2. Gökçer Özgür & Ceyhun Elgin & Adem Y. Elveren, 2021. "Is informality a barrier to sustainable development?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 45-65, January.
    3. Bridget O'Laughlin & Séverine Deneulin, 2016. "Forum 2016," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(4), pages 937-951, July.
    4. A. J. Knox & H. Bressers & N. Mohlakoana & J. Groot, 2019. "Aspirations to grow: when micro- and informal enterprises in the street food sector speak for themselves," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, December.
    5. Colin C. Williams & Friedrich Schneider, 2016. "Measuring the Global Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16551.
    6. Diana Mitlin & Jhono Bennett & Philipp Horn & Sophie King & Jack Makau & George Masimba Nyama, 2019. "Knowledge Matters - the potential contribution of the co-production of research to urban transformation," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 392019, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    7. Gengzhi Huang & Bowei Cai & Shuyi Liu & Desheng Xue, 2024. "Analysing the heterogeneity in working conditions of migrant informal workers in China: a test of the WIEGO model of informal employment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Jean-Philippe Berrou & François Combarnous, 2018. "Beyond Solidarity and Accumulation Networks in Urban Informal African Economies," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(4), pages 652-675, September.
    9. Karin Astrid Siegmann & Freek Schiphorst, 2016. "Understanding the globalizing precariat: From informal sector to precarious work," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 16(2), pages 111-123, April.
    10. Ralitza Dimova & Kevwe Pela, 2018. "Entrepreneurship: structural transformation, skills and constraints," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 203-220, June.
    11. Surbhi Kesar & Snehashish Bhattacharya, 2020. "Dualism and Structural Transformation: The Informal Manufacturing Sector in India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(3), pages 560-586, July.
    12. Márton Gosztonyi & Dániel Havran, 2022. "Highways to Hell? Paths Towards the Formal Financial Exclusion: Empirical Lessons of the Households from Northern Hungary," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1573-1606, June.
    13. World Bank & International Energy Agency, "undated". "Sustainable Energy for All 2015," World Bank Publications - Reports 22148, The World Bank Group.

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