A dialogue on the informal economy in Africa

Abstract

Although ubiquitous, very little is generalizable about the informal economy. This is especially the case within Africa wherein the informal economy also intersects with the indigenous economy. The diversity of papers in the special issue (AJOM, Volume 4 Issue 3) on the informal economy reflects the variety of issues and challenges faced by those in the informal economy. This dialogue however focuses not on those challenges, but on the conceptualization of the informal economy by the special issue papers. We discuss how the utopian and dystopian characterizations of the informal economy by the papers determines different processes and outcomes for those within the informal economy. We conclude by questioning whether the challenging research and policy issues confronting the informal economy arise because it is itself a misnomer.