Informal Economic Activity

This is the first full economic survey of informal activity - defined as all production and distribution which is generally excluded from national income accounts. Jim Thomas classifies informal economic activity into four sectors. First, the household sector covers unpaid household work. Secondly, the informal sector is where goods are traded but do not enter national income accounts (particularly important in developing countries). Thirdly, the irregular sector represents illegal activities related to legally produced and ... Read More

This is the first full economic survey of informal activity - defined as all production and distribution which is generally excluded from national income accounts. Jim Thomas classifies informal economic activity into four sectors. First, the household sector covers unpaid household work. Secondly, the informal sector is where goods are traded but do not enter national income accounts (particularly important in developing countries). Thirdly, the irregular sector represents illegal activities related to legally produced and distributed goods and services (eg. tax evasion, social security fraud). Finally, the criminal sector "produces" goods and services that are illegal - theft, extortion, drug trafficking, prostitution etc. The book draws on the literature from disciplines such as sociology and social anthropology. Covering the spectrum from the analysis of unpaid housework to the billion dollar drugs trade, this timely treatment of increasingly promiment economic issues should be of interest to a wide readership. Read Less