Re-theorising the role of the informal economy in Sub-Saharan Africa: some lessons from Gambia

Type Journal Article - International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Title Re-theorising the role of the informal economy in Sub-Saharan Africa: some lessons from Gambia
Author(s)
Volume 28
Issue 2-3
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2016
Page numbers 195-215
URL http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijesbu:v:28:y:2016:i:2/3:p:195-215
Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate critically the rival representations of the
role of the informal economy which is variously portrayed as a leftover from an
earlier mode of production, a direct by-product of late capitalism, an alternative
to the formal economy or a complement to formal work. Reporting evidence
from a survey of 500 participants in Gambia, the finding is that although each
and every representation of its role is valid in relation to particular populations
and/or specific types of informal work, no one representation fully captures the
diverse and multiple roles played by the informal economy in contemporary
Sub-Saharan Africa. The consequent argument is that only by using all of them
can a finer-grained and more comprehensive understanding of the multifarious
roles of the informal economy be achieved. The outcome is a more
multilayered and nuanced understanding of the role played by the informal
economy in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa.

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