This report is a collective endeavour that reflects the dedicated work of many colleagues and partners. The OECD Development Centre’s contribution was led and managed by Alexandre Kolev, Head of the Social Cohesion Unit, with support and co‑ordination by Mariya Aleksynska, Economist, under the guidance of Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director, and Ayumi Yuasa, Deputy Director.
The report is the result of data collection, analytical work, drafting, and fruitful collaboration between various authors across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including Mariya Aleksynska, Antoine Bonnet, Alexandre Kolev, Thomas Manfredi, Justina La, and Emilie Wojcieszynski. Following collaboration between the OECD Development Centre and the International Labour Organization (ILO) on their joint report Tackling Vulnerability in the Informal Economy (2019), Florence Bonnet (ILO) drafted the Portraits of Informality (Chapter 2) based on the recent ILO statistical update of Women and Men in the Informal Economy (2023). Uma Rani (ILO) provided special input to Chapter 5.
Referee feedback from the following experts helped to substantially improve the quality of the report, and is therefore gratefully acknowledged: Matthias Altmann, Stijn Broecke, Shivani Kannabhiran, Benjamin Katz, Pascal Marianna, Mariarosa Lunati and Jeremy West (OECD), Martine Humblet and Uma Rani (ILO).
The report benefitted greatly from a series of consultations, in particular during the Expert Meeting on Informality (March 2021) and a Thematic Expert Meeting on Informality in the Global Economy (March 2022). We sincerely thank, without implicating, Expert Meeting participants including Romina Boarini, Bert Brys, Juan De Laiglesia, Michael Förster, Allan Jorgensen, Shivani Kannabhiran, Arthur Minsat, Marco Mira D’Ercole and Jeremy West (OECD); Christina Behrendt, Florence Bonnet, Christine Hofmann, Philippe Marcadent and Uma Rani (ILO); Evelyn Astor (ITUC); Bastian Buck (Global Reporting Initiative); David Coady (IMF); Sabina Dewan (JustJobs Network); José Durán (ECLAC); Ambassador Manuel Escudero (Permanent Representative of Spain to the OECD); Gabriella Fesus (European Commission); Anders Gerdin (Sida); Pierre Habbard (TUAC); Richard Heeks (Global Development Institute and Fairwork Foundation); Sabine Klaus (GIZ); Jean-Christophe Laugée (B4IG); Unami Mpofu (AUDA-NEPAD); Nina Pavcnik (Dartmouth College); Prabha Pokhrel (HomeNet South Asia/WIEGO); Sally Roever (WIEGO); Janssen Ronald (Global Deal); François Roubaud (DIAL); Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer (World Bank); Alexandria Valerio (World Bank, Dominican Republic); Bart Verstraeten (WSM/ACV-CSC); Margreet Vrieling (Fair Wear Foundation); Simonetta Zarrilli (UNCTAD); as well as attendees, for fruitful exchanges and feedback shared during these consultations, which helped shape the final product and ensured its relevance for various audiences.
We would like to thank the OECD Development Centre’s Publications and Communications team, Delphine Grandrieux, Elizabeth Nash, Irit Perry and Henri-Bernard Solignac-Lecomte, for their patience and tireless work on the production of this report and associated materials. The authors also sincerely appreciate editing by Brenda O’Hanlon and graphic design support by Mélodie Descours. Antonella Leiva and Nathalie Lusenge also provided valuable administration services as well as punctual editing support.
Finally, the OECD Development Centre would like to express its sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for its support in the production of this report.