Issues and Prospects for the Study of Informal Economies
Concepts, Research Strategies, and Policy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9749271 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Louis A Ferman (University of Michigan, corresponding author), Stuart Henry (Eastern Michigan University), Michele Hoyman, Michele M Hoyman (0000-0003-2975-9179) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 493 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 154-172 |
| Publication date | 1987-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0002716287493001011 |
| OpenAlex | W2058333408 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 18 |
This article considers the current state of knowledge about informal economies. Criticism of the value of the informal economy concept is addressed by considering the multiple disciplinary interests in the topic, the confusion over an appropriate definition, and the problems of classification and explanation. A multidisciplinary, macro-micro approach is suggested. The joint ethnography-sruvey method has been found to be the most productive research tool for empirical study, and the principles of such methodology are outlined. In the context of a discussion on the politics of research funding, major areas for future research are identified. These include historical surveys; local-area studies; changing household work patterns in relation to the wider formal economy; informal work and illegal markets; class, ethnic, and sexual composition of the participants; informal institutions, particularly information and skill exchanges; media and their representation of the informal economy; and the role of informal economies in coping with national disasters. Finally, the implications of the informal economies for government policy on taxation, labor, welfare, and crime and criminal justice are drawn out
Economic growth · Economics · Informal education · Informal organization · Informal sector · Market economy · Social science · Sociology · Welfare · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Taxation and Compliance Studies
Persistent Poverty in the Netherlands
Un cuscinetto chiamato informalità. Politiche, simboli e materialità di un “segreto”
Mexican Immigrants and Informal Self-Employment in Chicago
Irregular holding of second job in the transition period (Bulgarian case)
Reading the Informal City
The Domestication of Women’s Work
Informal Work in Nonmetropolitan Pennsylvania1
Economic Restructuring, Gender, and Informal Work
(In)formalization
Marx and Modern Social Theory
Crime and Social Justice
On the Fence
Cities with Little Crime
The Hidden Economy
The underground economy and social stratification
Operational parameters in the stolen property system
New directions for anti-theft policy
Social innovation and the division of labour
The cultural bases of soviet Georgia's second economy
Off The Books
The Working Unemployed
Crime at Work
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,25 |
| Citation span | 1990 - 2025 (36) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |