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The Unofficial Economy and Economic Development

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  • Rafael La Porta
  • Andrei Shleifer

Abstract

In developing countries, informal firms (those that are not registered with the government) account for about half of all economic activity. We consider three broad views of the role of such firms in economic development. According to the romantic view, these firms would become the engine of economic growth if not stopped by government regulation. According to the parasite view, informal firms, by avoiding taxes and regulations, unfairly compete with the more efficient formal firms and, by taking away their market share, undermine economic progress. According to the dual view, informal firms are highly inefficient, do not pose much threat to the formal firms, but also do not contribute to economic growth, which is driven by the efficient formal firms. Using data from World Bank firm level surveys, we find that informal firms are small and extremely unproductive, compared even to the small formal firms, and especially relative to the larger formal firms. Compared to the informal firms, formal ones are run by much better educated managers. As a consequence, they use more capital, have different customers, market their products, and use more external finance. Hardly any formal firms had ever operated informally. This evidence is inconsistent with the romantic and parasite views, but supports the dual view. In this "Walmart" theory of economic development, growth comes from the creation of the highly productive formal firms. Informal firms keep millions of people alive, but disappear over time.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 14520.

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Date of creation: Dec 2008
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14520

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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. T√∫lio Cravo, 2011. "Are Small Firms more cyclically Sensitive than Large Ones? National, Regional and Sectoral Evidence from Brazil," ERSA conference papers ersa10p507, European Regional Science Association.
  2. Berkowitz, Daniel & DeJong, David N., 2011. "Growth in post-Soviet Russia: A tale of two transitions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(1-2), pages 133-143, June.
  3. Frijters, Paul & Kong, Tao & Meng, Xin, 2011. "Migrant Entrepreneurs and Credit Constraints under Labour Market Discrimination," IZA Discussion Papers 5967, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  4. Alicia Puyana & José Romero, 2010. "Informalidad y dualismo en la economía mexicana," Serie documentos de trabajo del Centro de Estudios Económicos 2010-04, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos.
  5. Catalina Granda-Carvajal, 2011. "Macroeconomic Implications of the Underground Sector: Challenging the Double Business Cycle Approach," Working papers 2011-14, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
  6. Dorsch, Michael & Maarek, Paul, 2012. "Inefficient predation, information, and contagious institutional change," MPRA Paper 38759, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  7. Arias-Vazquez, Francisco Javier & Azuara, Oliver & Bernal, Pedro & Heckman, James J. & Villarreal, Cajeme, 2010. "Policies to Promote Growth and Economic Efficiency in Mexico," IZA Discussion Papers 4740, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  8. Leal Ordóñez, Julio C., 2010. "Informal sector, productivity, and tax collection," MPRA Paper 26058, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Oct 2010.
  9. Fox, Louise & Sohnesen , Thomas Pave, 2012. "Household enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa : why they matter for growth, jobs, and livelihoods," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6184, The World Bank.
  10. Vigneswara Ilavarasan & Mark R Levy, 2010. "ICTs and Urban Microenterprises: Identifying and Maximizing Opportunities for Economic Development," Working Papers id:2819, eSocialSciences.
  11. Marco Fugazza & Norbert Fiess, 2010. "Trade Liberalization And Informality: New Stylized Facts," UNCTAD Blue Series Papers 44, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
  12. Luisanna Onnis & Patrizio Tirelli, 2011. "Institutions, policies and economic development. What are the causes of the shadow economy?," Working Papers 206, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2011.
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  15. Nestor Gandelman & Alejandro Rasteletti, 2012. "The Impact of Bank Credit on Employment Formality in Uruguay," Research Department Publications 4778, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  16. Fiess, Norbert M. & Fugazza, Marco & Maloney, William F., 2010. "Informal self-employment and macroeconomic fluctuations," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 211-226, March.
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