The informal economy represents a significant share of output and employment in many developing countries. Yet little is known about this hidden engine of innovation. This pioneering study addresses some crucial questions, including: what is the role of the informal sector in economic development? How does innovation occur in the informal economy? How does it spread, who are the key actors and what impacts does it have? How do inventors and entrepreneurs in the informal economy reap benefits from their innovations? What stops informal sector innovation from scaling up? How can informal sector innovation in developing countries be measured? And what policies might support informal sector innovation and improve its impacts? This book will stimulate further work on this crucial but under-researched subject. As well as rich empirical evidence from several groundbreaking studies, it includes conceptual and methodological tools and policy recommendations to help researchers and policy-makers understand innovation in the informal economy.

The authors connect concepts, definitions and data regarding the informal economy, innovation, and intellectual property in order to establish a framework for further qualitative and quantitative research and the improvement of public policies in respect of these issues.

It is well documented that the space of informal economic activity is rising across the globe. This rise has been particularly significant in the least developed and developing countries, especially after the onset of neo-liberal policies and withdrawal of welfare state. There has also been a shift in academic thinking on informal sector, with attempts being made to understand the contribution of informal sector in generating employment and economic growth rather than focusing solely on exploitative labour conditions in these economic activities. Indeed, with the retreat of welfare state and the introduction of contract labour in the formal sector, many issues related to occupational hazards and improper labour conditions do not remain unique to the informal sectors of the economy, particularly in less developed countries. This volume addresses a specific concern: the issue of knowledge generation and innovative activities, which lies at the core of sustained competitive advantage of these activities. The chapters in this book were originally published in the African Journal of Science Technology Innovation and Development.

The central economic and social role of the informal sector is increasingly appreciated. Yet while evidence shows that informal entrepreneurs can drive innovation, research on innovation in developing countries has been devoted mostly to formal sectors, organizations and institutions. What is lacking are studies assessing the role of innovation emanating within and from the informal sector. Who is the archetypical innovator in the informal economy? What types of innovations are generated? What is different from what one would encounter in the formal economy? Finding answers to these questions is a new field of research. On the one hand, the literature devoted to the study of the informal sector does not directly address the topic of innovation. In fact, the ability of the informal economy to do “new things in a different way,” its inventive ingenuity, rarely features as a topic at all. On the other hand, the equally vast literature on national innovation systems in countries at different stages of development largely overlooks the informal sector.The objective of this chapter is to push the boundaries of research in this field, first by conceptually integrating so far separate analyses of innovation and the informal economy and second by using research methods not often used by those studying the economic and employment aspects of innovation or the informal economy. The findings are based on an analysis of the existing literature, but more importantly on analytical fieldwork conducted for this book in three countries, and in the context of research undertaken by the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network.

What is Informal Economy An informal economy is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countries, it is sometimes stigmatized as troublesome and unmanageable. However, the informal sector provides critical economic opportunities for the poor and has been expanding rapidly since the 1960s. Integrating the informal economy into the formal sector is an important policy challenge. How you will benefit (I) Insights, and validations about the following topics: Chapter 1: Informal economy Chapter 2: Economy of Cambodia Chapter 3: Economy of the Central African Republic Chapter 4: Economy of Kenya Chapter 5: Economy of Namibia Chapter 6: Child labour Chapter 7: Employment Chapter 8: Workforce Chapter 9: WIEGO Chapter 10: Decent work Chapter 11: Waste picker Chapter 12: Economic development in India Chapter 13: Labour in India Chapter 14: Unreported employment Chapter 15: Black market Chapter 16: Tripartism Chapter 17: Social protection Chapter 18: Child labour in India Chapter 19: Renana Jhabvala Chapter 20: Martha Chen Chapter 21: Unemployment in India (II) Answering the public top questions about informal economy. (III) Real world examples for the usage of informal economy in many fields. Who this book is for Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of informal economy.

In this working paper, the authors connect concepts, definitions and data regarding the informal economy, innovation, and intellectual property in order to establish a framework for further qualitative and quantitative research and the improvement of public policies in respect of these issues.First, the authors review the literature defining the informal economy, and present an original synthesis of statistical data regarding the informal economy's social and economic significance. Second, the authors apply established and emerging concepts of innovation to the context of informal systems. Third, the authors discuss a spectrum of appropriation mechanisms, ranging from formal intellectual property rights to informal mechanisms of knowledge protection, sharing and exchange. Fourth and finally, the authors review existing policy approaches toward innovation in the formal economy, and establish a framework to consider future scenarios for the application of intellectual property concepts in this context.