FORMAL AND INFORMAL SECTOR: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND GOVERNMENT MEASURES IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

FORMAL AND INFORMAL SECTOR: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND GOVERNMENT MEASURES IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Author: Dr. Chinmoy Sarkar
Publisher: Namya Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2024-02-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9355457391

“Formal and Informal Sector in India -Causes, Consequences and Policy framework in socio-economic development” is an endeavor of the Research Wing of Siliguri College of Commerce, Siliguri to get an insight about the emerging issues faced by the formal and informal sector in India. As a developing economy, India has grown in GDP terms since 2005 and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world as of now, overtaking the GDP of Great Britain in 2022. Apart from her satisfactory growth in terms of formal planning, the size and magnitude of India’s informal sector is something which is a concern for both researchers and planners. Large informal clusters in metro cities of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico as well as in emerging metros like Surat, Siliguri, Bhopal and Vijaywada may thwart any comprehensive planning premises of a welfare state. There are issues of livelihoods and educational attainments if the informal base is large and operate beyond the spectrum of Government initiatives. The vulnerabilities of the migrant workers, the livelihoods of small traders and the literacy attainments of the school going children enrolled in low cost public schools were severely impacted when India was closed down for almost 187 days in 2020-2022 during the COVID crisis. The presence of informal workers in agricultural sector, small scale industries, MSMEs and informal employment is anything close to 235 million in India. There has been sincere efforts by our Governments to uplift the rural poor and the marginalized urban clusters by means of self-employment schemes and tax incentives, but such efforts do not reach the informal economy. Therefore the main focus lies in integrating these clusters with the formal economy. This is undoubtedly a formidable task. Further there is a need for a national floor to protect the wages of the clusters operating in the informal sector- in terms of minimum wage, health and safety measures as well as literacy attainments. On the other side, schooling, literacy attainments and livelihoods were severely affected during the lockdown. These are the issues which are raised in this publication.

The Long Shadow of Informality

The Long Shadow of Informality
Author: Franziska Ohnsorge
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2022-02-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464817545

A large percentage of workers and firms operate in the informal economy, outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies. This may hold back the recovery in these economies from the deep recessions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic--unless governments adopt a broad set of policies to address the challenges of widespread informality. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the extent of informality and its implications for a durable economic recovery and for long-term development. It finds that pervasive informality is associated with significantly weaker economic outcomes--including lower government resources to combat recessions, lower per capita incomes, greater poverty, less financial development, and weaker investment and productivity.

The Informal Economy

The Informal Economy
Author: Ceyhun Elgin
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2020-07-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000163814

The Informal Economy: Measures, Causes, and Consequences provides a comprehensive account of the economics of informality through the lenses of various economic perspectives. Although informal economic activity is widespread all around the world, many issues around its nature and consequences remain largely under-explored or unresolved. Most importantly, the evidence presented in the existing literature on informality has failed to generate a consensus on the measurements, causes, and effects of the informal sector among researchers. Most, if not all, of the empirical results are inconclusive or dependent on the nature of the dataset used in the analysis. This book aims to address that gap by exploring different definitions and measures of the informal economy, including different perspectives, then subjecting these measures to a battery of empirical tests to examine the determinants and effects of informality. Through this analysis and an extensive review of the literature, the book explores many of the economic, political, and social factors of the informal economy including the relationship between informality and the tax burden, tax enforcement, and institutional quality. This key text makes for compulsive reading to scholars and students interested in the informal or shadow economy.

The Global Informal Workforce

The Global Informal Workforce
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2021-07-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513575910

The Global Informal Workforce is a fresh look at the informal economy around the world and its impact on the macroeconomy. The book covers interactions between the informal economy, labor and product markets, gender equality, fiscal institutions and outcomes, social protection, and financial inclusion. Informality is a widespread and persistent phenomenon that affects how fast economies can grow, develop, and provide decent economic opportunities for their populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to uncover the vulnerabilities of the informal workforce.

INFORMAL WORKERS IN THE INTERSTICES OF FORMAL SECTOR: DYNAMICS AND DILEMMAS

INFORMAL WORKERS IN THE INTERSTICES OF FORMAL SECTOR: DYNAMICS AND DILEMMAS
Author: Dr. Deba Ranjan Hota
Publisher: Horizon Books ( A Division of Ignited Minds Edutech P Ltd)
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2021-05-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 8194682789

The focus of this book is the development of an understanding which will familiarize one to the basic concept of informal and formal sector from a sociological perspective. The growth of informal sector as a critical component of society and economy has gained numerous attention from various discipline. It is worthy to explore the dynamics and dilemmas of informal workers in formal sectors which have been less explored from social sciences parlance. A formal sector which only absorbs a tiny population in India’s working population has always taken advantage of the interlink ages of informal structure and policies operating in such context. The two way relationship of both the sectors bring new and fresh perspective to understand the intrinsic overlaps and interconnectedness and brought new conceptual dilemmas to the fore. In this volume, I tried to address the issues of migration, the primordial kinship bondages and the informal network existing in formal spheres in a university set up. The success and failed stories of the residents of shanty colonies has been dealt exploring the cause, consequences of social and economic life shading more light on the exploitative and extractive nature of the patrons in the studied areas. The present book is basically examined the socio- economic background, the process of migration and reasons of it. The cause and consequences of working in formal sectors of informal workers, establishment and growth of the colonies have found prominent place in the analysis to understand the present occupation structure, their economic role and intricate relationship with their patrons in the university. To conclude the dynamics and dilemmas of the workers of informal sectors can unravel finer debate at conceptual level for both formal and informal level. The underlying process has lot to contribute in developing sound legal framework to protect the live and livelihood of the more fragile informal workers. The plan of the book is as following: Chapter one deals with an introductory in the problems under study including objectives and hypothesis of the study. Chapter two describes the field and also with the methodology and about the various research methods adopted for the study. Chapter three narrates the socio-economic background of the respondents. Chapter four is concerned with assets and occupation of the migrants at their native places and the factors operating in the process of migration. Chapter five highlights the process of arrival and establishment to Jyoti Bihar and also the various forms of help in establishing oneself.. Chapter six, deals with present occupation of the respondent and the dichotomy and relationship between formal and informal sector. Also give clue to the various forms of help helping the respondents for the entry to both formal and informal sector. It also talks about the service or the help rendered to their respective patron by the respondents. Chapter seven gives a detail picture of the loan taken or loan given by the respondents and linkages between a patron and a money lender. Chapter eight shows the savings by the respondents along with its purpose for the future. Chapter nine, deals with the types and description of the patrons and also with their future working sphere. Chapter ten, focuses on the future scenario which leads to the conclusion part of the present study summing up all the major findings of the study.

Economic Informality

Economic Informality
Author: Ana Maria Oviedo
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 54
Release: 2009-06-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0821379976

This survey assembles recent theoretical and empirical advances in the literature on economic informality and analyzes the causes and costs of informality in developed and developing economies. Using recent evidence, the survey discusses the nature and roots of informal economic activity across countries, distinguishing between informality as the result of exclusion and exit. The survey provides an extensive review of recent international experience with policies aimed at reducing informality, in particular, policies that facilitate the formalization process, create a framework for the transition from informality to formality, lend support to newly created firms, reduce or eliminate inconsistencies across regulation and government agencies, increase information flows, and increase enforcement.

Linking the Formal and Informal Economy

Linking the Formal and Informal Economy
Author: Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2006-09-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199204764

A collection of studies on formality and informality in developing countries, this volume contains contributions from anthropologists, economists, sociologists, and political scientists. It argues for moving beyond the formal-informal dichotomy, and offers information to develop guiding principles for intervention.

The Informal Economy in Developing Countries

The Informal Economy in Developing Countries
Author: Jean-Pierre Cling
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2014-08-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317912225

Informality is ubiquitous in most developing countries. Understanding the informal economy is therefore of utmost importance from a political, economic and social point of view. Paradoxically, despite its economic importance, knowledge is extremely limited regarding the informal economy. It remains largely unrecognized by researchers, is neglected by politicians, and is even negatively perceived as it is meant to disappear with development. This book aims to amend this situation by presenting recent high level research which studies the informal sector and informal employment. Fresh research into this subject is presented through empirical analysis which covers Asia, Africa and Latin America. Each chapter relies on data and a detailed knowledge of the context of the countries studied in order to question the dominant schools of thought on the origins and causes of informality. The results provide interesting insights into the constraints faced by informal workers, the dynamics of the informal economy and its link with poverty issues. On the basis of the evidences provided by results adequate policies could be defined to address informality issues. The principal characteristics of the informal sector testify to some profound similarities between developing countries: low qualifications and the precariousness of jobs, mediocre incomes and working conditions, atomization of production units and lack of articulation with the formal economy, etc. This general statement does not contradict the observation that there is a high level of heterogeneity in the sector and in informal employment within each country, confirmed by several chapters in this work. In the absence of a sufficient number of job creations, the informal sector essentially constitutes a refuge for workers seeking and is here to stay in the short and medium term, even in emerging countries.

Informality

Informality
Author: Guillermo Perry
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2007
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821370936

Analyzes informality in Latin America, exploring root causes and reasons for and implications of its growth. This book uses two distinct but complementary lenses. It concludes that reducing informality levels and overcoming the "culture of informality" will require actions to increase aggregate productivity in the economy.

Public Sector Debt Statistics

Public Sector Debt Statistics
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2011-12-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 161635156X

The global financial crisis of recent years and the associated large fiscal deficits and debt levels that have impacted many countries underscores the importance of reliable and timely government statistics and, more broadly, public sector debt as a critical element in countries fiscal and external sustainability. Public Sector Debt Statistics is the first international guide of its kind, and its primary objectives are to improve the quality and timeliness of key debt statistics and promote a convergence of recording practices to foster international comparability and as a reference for national compilers and users for compiling and disseminating these data. Like other statistical guides published by the IMF, this one was prepared in consultation with countries and international agencies, including the nine organizations of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Finance Statistics (TFFS). The guide's preparation was based on the broad range of experience of our institutions and benefitted from consultation with national compilers of government finance and public sector debt statistics. The guide's concepts are harmonized with those of the System of National Accounts (2008) and the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition.