P
olitics
The Pandemic Exposes Dangers of the Informal Economy
And It Is Not Just Developing Countries That Are in Trouble by Pascale Joassart-Marcelli The novel coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the global economy, shuttering businesses, disrupting supply chains, and causing millions of people to lose their jobs. But the pandemic has been especially devastating for the world’s two billion or so informal workers, who constitute roughly 60 per cent of the global labour force and often earn less than $2 per day. These workers, particu.larly in developing countries, face a looming economic calamity
Unlike workers in the formal economy, who benefit from legal and social protections, informal workers earn their living without a safety net. They are mostly women and mostly self-employed, engaged in occupations as varied as street vending, domestic work, transportation, and garbage collection. Some also work as off-the-books day laborers in factories, farms, and other formal businesses that don’t extend full rights or protections to all of their employees. Measures taken by many countries to fight the pandemic—including lockdowns implemented without signifi-
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22/05/20
