What, Who, Why and Ways out of the Informal Economy: A Brief Review of Key Definitions and Approaches

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there have been many attempts to measure and assess the extent of informal economy. Estimates by regional, national and global reports suggest that the informal economy is widespread, and that informal work and employment is growing compared to formal work and formal economies (ILO 2018a, OECD 2002, Schneider et al. 2010). The International Labour Organization (ILO) (2018a) estimates that two billion workers worldwide are now employed informally, representing a majority of the global workforce (61%). Almost twice as high a percentage of informal jobs are present in rural areas (80%) than in the cities (44%), and a much higher percentage in developing (90%) and emerging countries (67%) than in developed countries (18%) (ILO 2018a). It is