IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/hdnspu/23308.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The informal sector revisited : a synthesis across space and time

Author

Listed:
  • Blunch, Niels-Hugo
  • Canagarajah, Sudharshan
  • Raju, Dhushyanth

Abstract

The concept of the informal sector (IS) has recently received widespread and growing attention. Indeed, it may be fair to talk about a re-emergence of the concept in the debate related to social protection and poverty reduction. We argue that with this new found prominence, it is even more important that we better understand the IS. Only with an improved understanding of the issues and dimensions of the IS can we design policies and programs which effectively address the needs of workers engaged in informal sector activities. This paper is an attempt to contribute to such an increased understanding by highlighting important pieces in understanding the concept of the IS across (1) time, briefly discussing how our view of the concept of the IS has evolved over time and (2) space, presenting empirical evidence and stylized features across regions. After presenting the current state of knowledge of the IS, we distill key aspects and issues of the IS and discuss their implications for policy design and implementation, especially in the context of fighting poverty and improving livelihoods of the poor in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Blunch, Niels-Hugo & Canagarajah, Sudharshan & Raju, Dhushyanth, 2001. "The informal sector revisited : a synthesis across space and time," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 23308, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:hdnspu:23308
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2002/01/17/000094946_01120804004891/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Holzmann & Steen Jørgensen, 2001. "Social Risk Management: A New Conceptual Framework for Social Protection, and Beyond," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 8(4), pages 529-556, August.
    2. Mead, Donald C. & Morrisson, Christian, 1996. "The informal sector elephant," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(10), pages 1611-1619, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2013. "Food, Agriculture and Economic Situation of Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 54240, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Aug 2013.
    2. Anne T. Kuriakose & Rasmus Heltberg & William Wiseman & Cecilia Costella & Rachel Cipryk & Sabine Cornelius, 2013. "Climate-Responsive Social Protection," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31, pages 19-34, November.
    3. World Bank, 2001. "Risk Management in South Asia : A Poverty Focused Approach," World Bank Publications - Reports 15449, The World Bank Group.
    4. Julia Ngozi Chukwuma, 2022. "Global ideas of welfare and the narrowing scope of social policy," Working Papers 252, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK.
    5. Schulze Buschoff, Karin, 2007. "Self-employment and social risk management: Comparing Germany and the United Kingdom," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment SP I 2007-103, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. D. Rajasekhar, 2006. "AT Times When Limbs May Fail: Social Security for Unorganised Workers in Karnataka," Working Papers id:331, eSocialSciences.
    7. Andam, Kwaw S. & Asante, Seth, 2018. "Firm employment, exit, and growth in the food processing sector: Evidence from Ghana," IFPRI discussion papers 1755, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Wim Naudé & Mark McGillivray & Stephanie Rossouw, 2008. "Measuring the Vulnerability of Subnational Regions," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-54, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Jutting, Johannes Paul, 2002. "Die neue Rolle von Sozialer Sicherung für ländliche Entwicklung in Entwicklungsländern," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 51(04), pages 1-9.
    10. Brunori, Paolo & O'Reilly, Marie, 2010. "Social protection for development: a review of definitions," MPRA Paper 29495, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Jose Silverio Marques, 2008. "Nicaragua Social Protection Public Expenditure Review," World Bank Publications - Reports 28104, The World Bank Group.
    12. Pierluigi Montalbano & Alessandro Federici & Umberto Triulzi & Carlo Pietrobelli, 2005. "Trade Openness and Vulnerability in Central and Eastern Europe," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2005-43, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Liina Kulu & Janno Reiljan, 2004. "Old-Age Pension Reform In Estonia On The Basis Of The World Bank’S Multi-Pillar Approach," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 34, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    14. Lahimer, Noomen, 2009. "La contribution des investissements directs étrangers à la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique subsaharienne," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/1167 edited by Goaied, Mohamed & Bienaymé, Alain.
    15. Berg, Lyudmila N., 2020. "Systematization of the EAEU legal sources in the field of regulation of the service market in science," Economic Consultant, Roman I. Ostapenko, vol. 32(4), pages 83-93.
    16. Christoph Bals & Koko Warner & Sonja Butzengeiger, 2006. "Insuring the uninsurable: design options for a climate change funding mechanism," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(6), pages 637-647, November.
    17. Negrete Garcia, Ana Karen, 2018. "Constrained Potential: A Characterisation of Mexican Microenterprises," GIGA Working Papers 309, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    18. Hossein Askari, 2015. "Severe Financial Crises and Fundamental Reforms: The Benefits of Risk-Sharing الأزمات المالية الخطيرة والإصلاحات الأساسية: فوائد تقاسم المخاطر," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 28(1), pages 93-128, January.
    19. Holzmann, Robert, 2010. "Bringing financial literacy and education to low and middle income countries : the need to review, adjust, and extend current wisdom," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 56501, The World Bank.
    20. World Bank, 2004. "Kazakhstan - The New Pensions in Kazakhstan : Challenges in Making the Transition," World Bank Publications - Reports 14362, The World Bank Group.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wbk:hdnspu:23308. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Aaron F Buchsbaum (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wrldbus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.