As COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc on Service Workers, is the Informal Sector Increasing Global Inequality?
05/24/21 • 33 min
Around the world, some 70% of economic activity is taking place in the shadows – and no, we’re not talking about drug smuggling or other illegal commerce.
In this edition of The Development Podcast, the team takes a deep dive into a new analysis that has revealed that the informal sector – firms and workers outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies – accounts for about a third of GDP and more than 70 percent of employment.
From Cidade Estrutural – one of the poorest neighborhoods in Brasília, Brazil – we hear from Abadia Teixeira de Jesus, who has spent her life climbing out of the economic shadows and into formal employment – only to be knocked back into informality by COVID-19.
Back in Washington, Raka and Paul speak with Franziska Ohnsorge, the manager of the World Bank’s Prospects Group, about her new book, The Long Shadow of Informality, and what these stunning datapoints mean for the long-term development goals of emerging market and developing economies.
About the Development Podcast:
The World Bank’s Development Podcast takes you on a journey around the world of international development, revealing the latest data, research, and solutions to reduce global poverty and achieve a sustainable future.
Around the world, some 70% of economic activity is taking place in the shadows – and no, we’re not talking about drug smuggling or other illegal commerce.
In this edition of The Development Podcast, the team takes a deep dive into a new analysis that has revealed that the informal sector – firms and workers outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies – accounts for about a third of GDP and more than 70 percent of employment.
From Cidade Estrutural – one of the poorest neighborhoods in Brasília, Brazil – we hear from Abadia Teixeira de Jesus, who has spent her life climbing out of the economic shadows and into formal employment – only to be knocked back into informality by COVID-19.
Back in Washington, Raka and Paul speak with Franziska Ohnsorge, the manager of the World Bank’s Prospects Group, about her new book, The Long Shadow of Informality, and what these stunning datapoints mean for the long-term development goals of emerging market and developing economies.
About the Development Podcast:
The World Bank’s Development Podcast takes you on a journey around the world of international development, revealing the latest data, research, and solutions to reduce global poverty and achieve a sustainable future.
Previous Episode
'We’re learning that development is very fragile‘ - Expert roundtable on the COVID-19 response successes and challenges
In our first episode of 2021, we invited an all star panel of development experts - including UNICEF’s Henrietta Fore, economist and author Dambisa Moyo, Save the Children’s Kevin Watkins, and the World Bank’s Axel van Trotsenburg - to share what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s next when it comes to the COVID-19 response.
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Back in Washington, Murthi joins Raka Banerjee and Paul Blake to talk about global trends and the support that the World Bank Group is giving to countries and partners in the race to vaccinate the world against the coronavirus.
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World Bank | The Development Podcast - As COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc on Service Workers, is the Informal Sector Increasing Global Inequality?
Transcript
Raka Banerjee:
Hello, and welcome to the Development Podcast coming to you from the World Bank Group in the United States and around the world. I'm Raka Banerjee alongside Paul Blake.
Paul Blake:
Today, the informal sector, jobs and companies outside the line of sight of governments in emerging markets and developing economies.
Franziska Ohnsorge:
There is ample evidence that countries with high informality have a whole host of development challenges, higher
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