Économie régionale et urbaine en Amérique latine : le rôle de l’informalité dans les processus de développement économique

The purpose of this issue is to provide an overview of the way the informal sector shapes the urban economic structure in Latin America. We also look at the influence of the informal sector on the most important factors driving the economic development there. The most tangible effects of the presence of an informal sector are on the housing market and on the territorial spreading of the activities in urban areas where most of the informal sector is concentrated in the periphery. Our original contributions analyze the socioeconomic effects generated by the presence of informality in the economy, beginning with questioning the best way to measure it. Our selected studies focus mostly on the interaction between the formal and informal sectors. Additionally, the issue will address the influence of informality on the international competitiveness of local production activities as one of the principal sources of economic development.