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A Critical Evaluation of Romantic Depictions of the Informal Economy

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  • Colin C. Williams
  • John Round

Abstract

The conventional portrayal of the formal/informal economy dichotomy endows the formal economy with positive attributes and the informal economy with negative characteristics. Recently, this hierarchy has been inverted by scholars portraying the informal economy positively as a chosen alternative and path to progress. This paper evaluates critically this emergent representation. Reporting a study of the informal economy in the Ukraine conducted in 2005/2006, a diverse array of informal economic practices are identified that amongst some groups represent an involuntary means of livelihood but amongst others a chosen alternative and some of which seem beneficial and others deleterious to economic development and social cohesion. The outcome is a call to transcend simplistic binary hierarchical depictions of the formal economy as “bad”/informal economy as “good” (or the inverse) and towards a finer-grained and more nuanced understanding of the diverse forms of informal work and their varying consequences for economic development and social cohesion.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin C. Williams & John Round, 2008. "A Critical Evaluation of Romantic Depictions of the Informal Economy," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 66(3), pages 297-323.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsocec:v:66:y:2008:i:3:p:297-323
    DOI: 10.1080/00346760801932700
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gershuny, Jonathan, 2000. "Changing Times: Work and Leisure in Postindustrial Society," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198287872, Decembrie.
    2. Franco Archibugi, 2000. "Beyond the Welfare State," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Associative Economy, chapter 10, pages 177-183, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Franco Archibugi, 2000. "The Associative Economy," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-59903-1, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michel, Arnaud & Hudon, Marek, 2015. "Community currencies and sustainable development: A systematic review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 160-171.
    2. Colin Williams, 2020. "Evaluating Public Administration Approaches towards Tax Non-Compliance in Europe," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Mpendulo Harold Thulare & Inocent Moyo & Sifiso Xulu, 2021. "Systematic Review of Informal Urban Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.
    4. Tanya Chavdarova, 2014. "Risky Businesses? Young People in Informal Self-Employment in Sofia," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 2060-2077, November.

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