The Informal Economy

This book examines the nature and regulation of the informal economy by means of a collective case study in a highly regulated Western country. The book, situated at the intersection of criminology and sociology, investigates the relation between formal, informal and criminal work in three urban and rural labour markets (seasonal work, street trade and sex work) alongside the impact of state policies on informality. Boels uncovers the differential position authorities take regarding these labour markets, notwithstanding the presence of informality and often vulnerable position of workers in each one of them. With a distinctive focus on informal workers, and through in-depth interviews, this study explores the life and work of informal workers, including their experiences with regulators, their motivations for working informally and their perceptions of state policy. In short, this book gives a voice to often ignored but crucial participants of the informal economy. The detailed discussion of the results and the links to theoretical frameworks will ensure this book is of particular interest to scholars of urban economics and governance, criminology, and sociology.

“This unique study examines from the perspective of informal workers the relationship between formal, informal and criminal work. Examining seasonal work, street trade and sex work through in-depth interviews, it explores the life of informal workers, their motives and unravels their perceptions of, and nature of their interactions with, the authorities. This book provides a rare in-depth insight into the lives of informal workers.” (Colin Williams, professor of Public Policy at the University of Sheffield (Sheffield University Management School))

“Dominique Boels throws wide open the world of the informal economy, from the seasonal fruit-picking trade, to selling on the streets and prostitution. Using detailed field work and rigorous theoretical argument, she shows how the informal is intertwined with the normal operations of companies and formal work, and in what ways the activities of regulatory agencies can be powerful or be rendered futile. This is a major new book which will be essential reading for all those concerned with the world of work, poverty and migration.” (Professor Joanna Shapland, School of Law, University of Sheffield)

Dominique Boels is a researcher at Ghent University, Belgium, specialising in the policing of social fraud. She is assistant editor of the European Journal of Policing Studies.