The Awakening of ‘informal Sector’ Studies in Southern Africa

Abstract

Research on the ‘informal sector’ in Southern Africa began only during the late 19705. The backdrop to this awakened concern and a review of the extant literature on Southern Africa are presented. The growing interest is related to a restructuring of Southern African studies as a whole, a recognition of the chronic problems of structural unemployment and to the accordance of the concept with reformist strategies of capitalist development. The existing literature divides first into macro-level studies debating the size of the ‘informal sector’ and its relevance to development planning in Southern Africa and, second, micro-level studies focussed on particular ‘informal sector’ activities past and present.