Overview

This Research Handbook on Development and the Informal Economy captures the magnitude of the informal economy for the global labour force. It unravels numerous concepts, definitions and methods of data collection to offer valuable insight into the differences between the informal, non-observed and shadow economies. Situating the concept of the informal economy within the evolution of development theories, strategies and thinking over the past 50 years, this Research Handbook also explores the future direction of the informal economy. Chapters consider recent debates around the transition from the informal to the formal economy, a transition which would reshape the social contract between people and state. Expert international contributors examine a range of policies, actions, regions and groups of vulnerable workers to uncover which forms of organisation will lead to more power, recognition and sustainable livelihoods for the working poor. They also analyse how innovation, knowledge co-production and technological change at a grassroots level can improve the working and living conditions of the informal worker. This Research Handbook maps the changing landscape of the informal economy and will be an essential resource for academics, researchers and students in the fields of development studies, economics and international studies.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jacques Charmes
Publisher:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Imprint:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
ISBN:  

9781788972796

ISBN 10:   1788972791
Pages:   480
Publication Date:   18 September 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Contents: 1 Why and how should the informal economy be revisited after 50 years? 1 Jacques Charmes PART I CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS, METHODS OF MEASUREMENT AND ESTIMATION, MAGNITUDE AND CHARACTERISTICS, AND GLOBAL CONCEPTION OF STRATEGIES 2 The success story of a loose but useful concept: origins, development, magnitude and trends of the informal economy 19 Jacques Charmes 3 The Non-Observed Economy vs. the Shadow Economy in the European Union: concepts, measurements methods and estimates revisited 45 Philippe Adair 4 Informality and development in Africa 79 Dorothy McCormick, Erick Manga, Radha Upadhyaya, Paul Kamau, Herbert Wamalwa and Samuel Ngigi 5 Facing informal economy practices and institutions: the challenge of formalisation policies in Africa 116 Frédéric Lapeyre PART II RECONSIDERING THE MARGINS AND FRONTIERS OF THE INFORMAL ECONOMY 6 Informal employment and non-market work 147 Nancy Folbre 7 Assessing the figures of sex work throughout non-transition and transition European countries: magnitude, premium on earnings and informal employment 168 Philippe Adair and Oksana Nezhyvenko 8 Kinship groups and informal trade in West and Central Africa 210 Stephen S. Golub and Mirayda Martinez PART III GIVING VISIBILITY AND VOICE TO THE MOST VULNERABLE: OBSERVING, PARTICIPATING, SUPPORTING AND ORGANISING 9 Street vendors in Tunisia: encountering the informal economy 240 Laurence Michalak 10 Formalisation from the ground: the case of waste pickers’ cooperatives 263 Sonia Maria Dias and Lucía Fernández 11 Collective bargaining by informal workers in the global South: where and how it takes place 285 Françoise Carré, Pat Horn and Chris Bonner 12 Knowledge co-production with and for organisations of informal workers: building democratic capacity for social change 317 Ana Carolina Ogando and Jenna Harvey PART IV SKILLS, INNOVATION AND IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY 13 Skills development and the informal sector: a review of reports and commitments of the international institutions 347 Kenneth King 14 Informality and innovation: an avenue towards bottom-up industrialisation for Africa? 363 Erika Kraemer-Mbula and Lorenza Monaco 15 Innovation in refugee economies: supporting intermediaries that embrace informality 387 Jeremy de Beer and Nicole Tumaine 16 Women in the informal economy and the impact of technological change 410 Jacques Charmes Index 435

Reviews

'Jacques Charmes and Edward Elgar Publishing are to be warmly congratulated for this Research Handbook, which reflects on 50 years of academic discussion on the informal economy, and offers us new insights and inspiration for the next 50 years of such work.' -- Simon McGrath, University of Nottingham, UK 'This Research Handbook on Development and the Informal Economy is a landmark volume offering a uniquely comprehensive overview of the informal economy across the global landscape. Expertly edited by Jacques Charmes, the volume is international in coverage and exhaustive in scope. Bringing together a global roster of authors and many of the leading authorities on the subject, the individual chapters address the multi-faceted dimensions in an expert manner, and collectively cover all the important issues arising from the persistence of the informal economy globally. It is a timely and authoritative Research Handbook, offering cutting-edge analysis and reflection, and is an essential read for students, academics and practitioners.' -- Colin C. Williams, University of Sheffield, UK

'Jacques Charmes and Edward Elgar Publishing are to be warmly congratulated for this Handbook, which reflects on 50 years of academic discussion on the informal economy, and offers us new insights and inspiration for the next 50 years of such work.' --Simon McGrath, University of Nottingham, UK'This Research Handbook on Development and the Informal Economy is a landmark volume offering a uniquely comprehensive overview of the informal economy across the global landscape. Expertly edited by Jacques Charmes, the volume is international in coverage and exhaustive in scope. Bringing together a global roster of authors and many of the leading authorities on the subject, the individual chapters address the multi-faceted dimensions in an expert manner, and collectively cover all the important issues arising from the persistence of the informal economy globally. It is a timely and authoritative Handbook, offering cutting-edge analysis and reflection, and is an essential read for students, academics and practitioners.' --Colin C. Williams, University of Sheffield, UK

'This Research Handbook on Development and the Informal Economy is a landmark volume offering a uniquely comprehensive overview of the informal economy across the global landscape. Expertly edited by Jacques Charmes, the volume is international in coverage and exhaustive in scope. Bringing together a global roster of authors and many of the leading authorities on the subject, the individual chapters address the multi-faceted dimensions in an expert manner, and collectively cover all the important issues arising from the persistence of the informal economy globally. It is a timely and authoritative Handbook, offering cutting-edge analysis and reflection, and is an essential read for students, academics and practitioners.' -- Colin C. Williams, University of Sheffield, UK

Author Information

Edited by Jacques Charmes, Emeritus Researcher, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Centre Population et Développement (Ceped), University Paris Descartes, France

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