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...

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the informal sector is a major engine for employment, entrepreneurship and growth. The high incidence of corruption is another distinctive feature of SSA. According to the last Transparency International Corruption Perception Index almost 70% of SSA countries ranked...

In a concern to go further than a simple static report and to address poverty in its immense complexity, this study analyses its evolution over a period of time in relation to the macro-economic and social dynamics at work in Africa. On the basis of a certain number of elements of analysis,...

This article sets out to investigate the reasons why some household businesses decide to register and become formal (while others do not) in order to shed light on the origins of informality. We use qualitative as well as quantitative data on household businesses (HB) derived from first-hand...

This paper contributes to the current debate on pro-poor growth. It discusses the respective impacts of macro-economic growth and the reduction of income inequality on monetary poverty. Our results emphasise the potential importance of the latter factor and suggest putting forward redistribution...