Why improve statistics on the informal economy?
Changing employment arrangements associated with economic growth, transition, or crisis and with global integration and competition – require not only new ways of conceptualising the informal economy but also new approaches to measuring its size and contribution and to classifying those who work in it. How can one predict and model economic performance if a large share of total output is not adequately measured and valued? Or how can one predict and model labour market behaviour if a major segment of the total workforce is not adequately measured or understood? Labour statistics and national accounts need to more adequately capture and measure the size and contribution of the total economy, including the informal economy. Current debates on poverty focus largely on human capabilities to the relative neglect of market opportunities. How can one understand and address poverty without having better statistics on the income sources, the income levels, and the financial risks of those who a
