A dialogue on the informal economy in Africa

ABSTRACT

Although ubiquitous, very little is generalizable about the informal economy. This is especially the case within Africa wherein the informal economy also intersects with the indigenous economy. The diversity of papers in the special issue (AJOM, Volume 4 Issue 3) on the informal economy reflects the variety of issues and challenges faced by those in the informal economy. This dialogue however focuses not on those challenges, but on the conceptualization of the informal economy by the special issue papers. We discuss how the utopian and dystopian characterizations of the informal economy by the papers determines different processes and outcomes for those within the informal economy. We conclude by questioning whether the challenging research and policy issues confronting the informal economy arise because it is itself a misnomer.

KEYWORDS:

• informal economy
• indigenous economy
• institutions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Tiara Dungy is a PhD student at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. She received her MA in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research is informed by her early career in non-profit management and corporate social investment in the US and South Africa. Her most recent work focuses on intra-African philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and new venture social responsibility with a specialized focus on South Africa.

Hermann A. Ndofor is currently an assistant professor of management at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His research interests include management in Africa, competitive dynamics, top management teams, and entrepreneurship. His research has been published in a range of journals including the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Management, the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Leadership Quarterly. Dr. Ndofor is currently Associate Editor of the Africa Journal of Management and is on the editorial review boards of the Strategic Management Journal and the Management and Organization Review. Professor Ndofor received his BA and MA degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his MBA from the University of Maryland, and his PhD in management from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

ORCID

Hermann Achidi Ndofor http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4933-3442