IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ilo/ilowps/992744903402676.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Linkages between the formal and the informal sectors in developing countries: a review of literature

Author

Listed:
  • Harriss JC.

Abstract

During the 1970s and early 1980s the ILO carried out a number of studies on the informal sector in large urban centres of developing countries, including Accra, Lome, Yaounde, Dakar and Kaolack. These studies failed to elaborate on the nature and extent of the relationship between the informal and formal sectors. This review is a first attempt to examine the question of informal-formal linkages. The author finds little solid argument in support of the hypothesis that the informal sector is subject to exploitation by the formal sector in the sense that a substantial part of the surplus generated in the micro production units is appropriated by the formal sector. The survey shows that there are significant backward linkages between the two sectors. If these are detrimental to the interests of the informal sector it is largely because of the imperfections in the factor markets. The review also underlines the need to look at the two sectors in an integrated framework of national economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Harriss JC., 1990. "Linkages between the formal and the informal sectors in developing countries: a review of literature," ILO Working Papers 992744903402676, International Labour Organization.
  • Handle: RePEc:ilo:ilowps:992744903402676
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/1990/90B09_76_engl.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Morawetz, D.,, 1977. "Castro market : slices of economic life in a poor Chilean fishing town," ILO Working Papers 991705253402676, International Labour Organization.
    2. Sanchez, C. E., & Palmieri, H., & Ferrero, F.,, 1976. "Desarrollo industrial, urbanizacion y empleo en la ciudad de cordoba (Argentina)," ILO Working Papers 991680903402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. Sethuraman, S. V.,, 1976. "Urban informal sector : concept, measurement and policy," ILO Working Papers 991667413402676, International Labour Organization.
    4. Joshi, H., & Lubell, H., & Mouly, J.,, 1974. "Urban development and employment in Abidjan," ILO Working Papers 991566623402676, International Labour Organization.
    5. Sanchez, C. E., & Palmieri, H., & Ferrero, F.,, 1976. "Desarrollo urbano y sector informal en la ciudad de Cordoba (Argentina)," ILO Working Papers 991683623402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Maldonado, Carlos., 1985. "Programme d'appui au secteur non-structure urbain d'afrique francophone, 1ere phase: premier rapport d'avancement des activites du programme, fevrier 1982 - janvier 1983," ILO Working Papers 992410103402676, International Labour Organization.
    7. Solomon D., 1975. "Urbanisation and employment in kuala lumpur," ILO Working Papers 991584573402676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Sethuraman, S. V., 1974. "Urbanisation and employment in jakarta: summary and conclusions of a case study," ILO Working Papers 991718313402676, International Labour Organization.
    9. Maldonado, Carlos., 1989. "Self-training in theory and practice: the programme to support urban informal sector enterprises in french-speaking Africa," ILO Working Papers 992802903402676, International Labour Organization.
    10. repec:ilo:ilowps:259287 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Bahigiki E. & Mvuyekure C., 1988. "Le Profil economique des micro-entreprises informelles des villes de butare, gisenyi et ruhengeri (Rwanda)," ILO Working Papers 992610503402676, International Labour Organization.
    12. Gerry C., 1974. "Petty producers and the urban economy; a case study of dakar," ILO Working Papers 991563753402676, International Labour Organization.
    13. Bose, A. N., 1974. "Informal sector in the calcutta metropolitan economy," ILO Working Papers 991563763402676, International Labour Organization.
    14. Fowler, D. A.,, 1978. "Informal sector of freetown (Sierra Leone)," ILO Working Papers 991765433402676, International Labour Organization.
    15. Sethuraman, S. V., 1974. "Urbanisation and employment in jakarta," ILO Working Papers 991566633402676, International Labour Organization.
    16. Penouil, Marc. & Lachaud, Jean-Pierre., 1986. "Secteur informel et la marche du travail en Afrique noire francophone," ILO Working Papers 992461983402676, International Labour Organization.
    17. Schneider, G. & Schneider H. & Bude U., 1978. "Volta region and accra; urbanisation, migration and employment in Ghana," ILO Working Papers 991769343402676, International Labour Organization.
    18. Lachaud JP., 1987. "Activites informelles et l'emploi au Benin: analyse et strategie de developpement," ILO Working Papers 992553363402676, International Labour Organization.
    19. Sethuraman, S. V., 1985. "Basic needs and the informal sector: the case of low-income housing in developing countries," ILO Working Papers 992365613402676, International Labour Organization.
    20. Nihan, Georges. & Carton, Michel., 1980. "Secteur non structure moderne de kigali, republique du rwanda; propositions pour un programme d'action," ILO Working Papers 991857683402676, International Labour Organization.
    21. Capt, Josiane., 1987. "Capacite et maitrise technologique des micro-entreprises metalliques a Bamako et a Segou (Mali)," ILO Working Papers 992592873402676, International Labour Organization.
    22. Sethuraman, S. V.,, 1977. "Employment promotion in the informal sector in Ghana," ILO Working Papers 991725793402676, International Labour Organization.
    23. Lubell, H.,, 1974. "Urbanisation and employment : insights from a series of case studies of third world metropolitan cities," ILO Working Papers 991598933402676, International Labour Organization.
    24. Schaefer, Kalmann., 1974. "Urban development and employment in sao paulo; a preliminary summary of a case study," ILO Working Papers 991561893402676, International Labour Organization.
    25. Bairoch, Paul,, 1976. "Emploi et taille des villes," ILO Working Papers 991693293402676, International Labour Organization.
    26. repec:ilo:ilowps:243650 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. repec:ilo:ilowps:236561 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:ilo:ilowps:276910 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. repec:ilo:ilowps:289918 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. repec:ilo:ilowps:289184 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. repec:ilo:ilowps:294522 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:293117 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:ilo:ilowps:293282 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. repec:ilo:ilowps:293121 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. repec:ilo:ilowps:293891 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Beladi, Hamid & Dutta, Meghna & Kar, Saibal, 2016. "FDI and Business Internationalization of the Unorganized Sector: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 340-349.
    10. Bigsten, Arne & Kimuyu, Peter & Lundvall, Karl, 2000. "Informality, Ethnicity and Productivity: Evidence from Small Manufacturers in Kenya," Working Papers in Economics 27, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.

    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. repec:ilo:ilowps:274490 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Maipose GS., 1990. "Informal sector in Zambia: employment consequences of the legal and regulatory framework," ILO Working Papers 992769103402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. repec:ilo:ilowps:276910 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. repec:ilo:ilowps:293121 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Peters-Berries C., 1993. "Urban informal sector in Zimbabwe: from insignificance to the employer of the last resort," ILO Working Papers 992931213402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Sethuraman, S. V., 1985. "Basic needs and the informal sector: the case of low-income housing in developing countries," ILO Working Papers 992365613402676, International Labour Organization.
    7. repec:ilo:ilowps:236561 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Peters-Berries C., 1993. "Putting development policies into practice: the problems of implementing policy reforms in Africa," ILO Working Papers 992931173402676, International Labour Organization.
    9. repec:ilo:ilowps:293117 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. repec:ilo:ilowps:293282 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Peters-Berries C., 1993. "Urban informal sector and structural adjustment in Zambia," ILO Working Papers 992932823402676, International Labour Organization.
    12. Tesfachew T., 1992. "Government policies and the urban informal sector in Africa," ILO Working Papers 992899183402676, International Labour Organization.
    13. Assuncao P., 1993. "Government policies and the urban informal sector in sub-saharan Africa: a comparative study on Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola," ILO Working Papers 992938913402676, International Labour Organization.
    14. repec:ilo:ilowps:294522 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Dawson J. & Oyeyinka B., 1993. "Structural adjustment and the urban informal sector in Nigeria," ILO Working Papers 992945223402676, International Labour Organization.
    16. repec:ilo:ilowps:293891 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. repec:ilo:ilowps:289918 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Sethuraman, S. V., 1992. "Employment planning in the urban informal sector," ILO Working Papers 992891843402676, International Labour Organization.
    19. repec:ilo:ilowps:289184 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Aryee G., 1977. "Small-scale manufacturing activities; a study of the interrelationships between the formal and the informal sectors in kumasi, Ghana," ILO Working Papers 991722333402676, International Labour Organization.
    21. Tokman, Víctor E., 1978. "Informal-formal sector interrelationships," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), June.
    22. Date-Bah, Eugenia., 1982. "Sex inequality in an African urban labour market: the case of accra- tema," ILO Working Papers 992207523402676, International Labour Organization.
    23. Swaminathan, M., 1991. "Understanding the "Informal Sector": A Survey," Research Paper 95, World Institute for Development Economics Research.
    24. repec:ilo:ilowps:220752 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Josip Franic, 2019. "Undeclared Economy in Croatia during the 2004–2017 Period: Quarterly Estimates Using the MIMIC Method," Croatian Economic Survey, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, vol. 21(1), pages 5-46, June.
    26. Mathan Satchi & Jonathan Temple, 2006. "Growth and labour markets in developing countries," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 06/581, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    27. Afenyadu, Dela & King, Kenneth & McGrath, Simon & Oketch, Henry & Rogerson, Christian M. & Visser, Kobus, 1999. "Learning to Compete: Education, Training and Enterprise in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa," Education Research Papers 12865, Department for International Development (DFID) (UK).
    28. Ricardo A. Lagos, 1995. "Formalizing the Informal Sector: Barriers and Costs," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(1), pages 111-131, January.
    29. Rafaela Bastidas & Nicolás Acosta, 2019. "Misallocation and manufacturing TFP in Ecuador: formal, semi-formal and informal firms," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 8(1), pages 1-29, December.
    30. repec:ilo:ilowps:285224 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. repec:ilo:ilowps:367045 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Nitya Rao, 1996. "Empowerment through Organisation," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 3(2), pages 171-197, September.
    33. Helio Mau-Quei & Michael P. Cameron, 2019. "The Characteristics of the Informal Sector in Timor-Leste," Working Papers in Economics 19/05, University of Waikato.

    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:ilo:ilowps:992744903402676. 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: Vesa Sivunen (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ilounch.html .

    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.