ENABLING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: AN INFORMAL ECONOMY PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Research presents the informal economy as a fading phenomenon mainly confined to the peripheries of mainstream economics. However, such views overlook its transformative effect on the social and economic spheres of many regions of the developing world through employment creation. Drawing from a new dataset combining World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Africa Index databases, this study examines the effect of country-level variables (informal economy size, economic and sustainable development) on economic and social change in twenty sub-Saharan African nations. Results reveal that informal work and informal business sustain livelihoods by providing income that helps tackle poverty, malnutrition and mortality rates. This has implications for academic research and policy making because it induces debate on the need to balance economic and social change with policy initiatives.