# **Table of Contents**

|**I.**|**Motivation for studying informal economic activity ........................................................................ 4**|
|---|---|
|A|. Size and importance of the sector ..................................................................................................... 6|
|B|.<br>Role in jobs and employment ............................................................................................................ 6|
|C|.<br>Inclusion of disadvantaged groups .................................................................................................... 7|
|D|. Role in productivity and growth ....................................................................................................... 7|
|**II.**|**Concept and definition ....................................................................................................................... 8**|
|A|. Nature of non-agricultural informal activity ..................................................................................... 8|
||The size criteria ..................................................................................................................................... 8|
||The registration criteria ......................................................................................................................... 9|
||The compliance-with-public-regulation criteria ................................................................................... 9|
|B|.<br>Informality as a continuum of characteristics ................................................................................. 10|
|C|.<br>Distinctions: Informal firms, informal activity, and informal employment .................................... 10|
|**III.**|**Approaches to measuring informality ............................................................................................. 11**|
|A|. Surveys of firms: pros and cons ...................................................................................................... 11|
|B|.<br>Surveys of households: pros and cons ............................................................................................ 12|
|**IV.**|**Qualitative data and the policy agenda ........................................................................................... 13**|
|A|. Interviews with major players ......................................................................................................... 13|
|B|.<br>Focus groups ................................................................................................................................... 14|
|**V.**|**Issues in current research................................................................................................................. 15**|
|A|. Informal employment ...................................................................................................................... 15|
||1.<br>MNA ........................................................................................................................................... 15|
||2.<br>South Asia ................................................................................................................................... 16|
||3.<br>Rural-urban migration and informal employment ...................................................................... 16|
|B|.<br>Informal trade .................................................................................................................................. 16|

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