IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/jdexxx/v15y2010i04ns1084946710001683.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Entrepreneurship And The Informal Economy: An Overview

Author

Listed:
  • COLIN C. WILLIAMS

    (Management School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DT, UK)

  • SARA NADIN

    (Management School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DT, UK)

Abstract

In recent decades, the field of entrepreneurship studies has become increasingly interested in the relationship between entrepreneurship and the informal economy. This paper reviews this burgeoning sub-field of entrepreneurship studies that recognizes how entrepreneurs do not always conduct their business affairs wholly by the rulebook. Evaluating this rapidly growing body of literature, it reviews the findings regarding the preponderance of entrepreneurs to engage in the informal economy, the nature of such informal entrepreneurship, the characteristics of informal entrepreneurs and the motives underpinning participation in such endeavor, along with the competing theories that have sought to explain engagement in this type of entrepreneurship. The tentative finding is that there are marked socio-spatial variations in the prevalence and nature of informal entrepreneurship, the characteristics of informal entrepreneurs and their rationales. The implication is not only that different theorizations of informal entrepreneurship apply more in some populations than others, but also that some populations usually seen as lacking in entrepreneurial spirit are perhaps more enterprising and entrepreneurial than currently recognized. Consequently, legitimizing this hidden enterprise culture could be an important means of promoting enterprise and economic development in such populations. The paper concludes by highlighting future avenues for research on this subject.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin C. Williams & Sara Nadin, 2010. "Entrepreneurship And The Informal Economy: An Overview," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(04), pages 361-378.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jdexxx:v:15:y:2010:i:04:n:s1084946710001683
    DOI: 10.1142/S1084946710001683
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1084946710001683
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S1084946710001683?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Packard, Truman G., 2007. "Do workers in Chile choose informal employment? A dynamic analysis of sector choice," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4232, The World Bank.
    2. John Bennett & Saul Estrin, 2007. "Informality as a Stepping Stone: Entrepreneurial Entry in a Developing Economy," CEDI Discussion Paper Series 07-11, Centre for Economic Development and Institutions(CEDI), Brunel University.
    3. Gabriella Lazaridis & Maria Koumandraki, 2003. "Survival Ethnic Entrepreneuers in Greece: A Mosaic of Informal and Formal Business Activities," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 8(2), pages 38-49, May.
    4. Peter Armstrong, 2005. "Critique of Entrepreneurship," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-55495-5.
    5. Colin C. Williams, 2006. "The Hidden Enterprise Culture," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3948.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Colin C. Williams & Sara Nadin, 2012. "Beyond The Commercial Versus Social Entrepreneurship Dichotomy: A Case Study Of Informal Entrepreneurs," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(03), pages 1-17.
    2. Tony J. Watson, 2013. "Entrepreneurial action and the Euro-American social science tradition: pragmatism, realism and looking beyond ‘the entrepreneur’," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1-2), pages 16-33, January.
    3. Colin C. Williams, 2013. "Evaluating cross-national variations in the extent and nature of informal employment in the European Union," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5-6), pages 479-494, November.
    4. Colin C Williams & Anjula Gurtoo, 2011. "Evaluating Women Entrepreneurs In The Informal Sector: Some Evidence From India," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(03), pages 351-369.
    5. Colin C. Williams & Sara Nadin, 2010. "The Commonality And Character Of Off-The-Books Entrepreneurship: A Comparison Of Deprived And Affluent Urban Neighborhoods," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(03), pages 345-358.
    6. Colin C. Williams, 2011. "Entrepreneurship, the informal economy and rural communities," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 5(2), pages 145-157, April.
    7. Colin C. Williams & Abbi Kedir & Meryem Fethi & Sara Nadin, 2012. "Evaluating 'Varieties of Capitalism' by the Extent and Nature of the Informal Economy: The Case of South-Eastern Europe," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 10(2), pages 113-130.
    8. Colin C. Williams & Youssef Youssef, 2015. "Theorising Entrepreneurship in the Informal Sector in Urban Brazil: A Product of Exit or Exclusion?," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 24(2), pages 148-168, September.
    9. Colin C. Williams & John Round, 2008. "The Hidden Enterprise Culture Of Moscow: Entrepreneurship And Off-The-Books Working Practices," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(04), pages 445-462.
    10. Colin C. Williams & Friedrich Schneider, 2016. "Measuring the Global Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16551.
    11. Colin C. Williams, 2011. "Entrepreneurship, the informal economy and rural communities," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 145-157, May.
    12. Colin C. Williams & Brunilda Kosta, 2019. "Evaluating Institutional Theories Of Informal Sector Entrepreneurship: Some Lessons From Albania," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(02), pages 1-17, June.
    13. Rosa Abraham, 2017. "Informality in the Indian Labour Market: An Analysis of Forms and Determinants," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 60(2), pages 191-215, June.
    14. Colin C. Williams & Sara Nadin & Peter Rodgers & John Round & Jan Windebank, 2011. "Mapping the Social Organization of Labour in Moscow: Beyond the Formal/informal Labour Dualism," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(1), pages 43-53, February.
    15. Julia Rouse & Dilani Jayawarna, 2011. "Structures of Exclusion from Enterprise Finance," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(4), pages 659-676, August.
    16. Carla Moreno, 2020. "Mandatory savings, informality and liquidity constraints," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(4), pages 3274-3295.
    17. Colin C. Williams & John Round & Peter Rodgers, 2009. "Evaluating The Motives Of Informal Entrepreneurs: Some Lessons From Ukraine," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(01), pages 59-71.
    18. Laure Pasquier-Doumer, 2013. "Intergenerational Transmission of Self-Employed Status in the Informal Sector: A Constrained Choice or Better Income Prospects? Evidence from Seven West African Countries," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 22(1), pages 73-111, January.
    19. Fadil Sahiti, 2021. "Institutions and entrepreneurial activity: a comparative analysis of Kosovo and other economies," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 98-119, February.
    20. Brück, Tilman & Llussá, Fernanda & Tavares, José, 2010. "Perceptions, Expectations, and Entrepreneurship: The Role of Extreme Events," IZA Discussion Papers 5351, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wsi:jdexxx:v:15:y:2010:i:04:n:s1084946710001683. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/jde/jde.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.