| Description |
1 online resource (xxxiv, 316 pages) : color illustrations |
| Series |
South Asia development forum |
|
South Asia development forum.
|
| Contents |
Front Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- About the Editors and Authors -- Main Messages -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Rethinking Informality in South Asia: An Overview of the Findings -- Introduction -- Conceptual Framework -- South Asia's Informal Firms: Outsiders, Evaders, or Avoiders? -- Likely Effect of Reforms on the Informal Sector: Productivity Impacts -- Can Digital Platforms Address Demand Constraints on Informality? -- Barriers to Skills and Capital Accumulation in the Informal Sector -- Building Resilience: Offering Social Insurance in the Informal Sector |
|
Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2 Formal Sector Distortions, Entry Barriers, and the Informal Economy: A Quantitative Exploration -- Introduction -- Model -- Stylized Facts -- Conclusion -- Annex 2: Calibration Strategy, Concrete Examples of Idiosyncratic Distortions and Entry Barriers, and Formal Characterization of the Equilibrium -- Annex 2A: Calibration of Parameter Values in the Model -- Annex 2B: Further Examples of Idiosyncratic Distortions and Entry Barriers -- Annex 2C: Formal Definition of Firm-Level Outcomes and Equilibrium Conditions -- Notes -- References |
|
Chapter 3 The Value Added Tax, Cascading Sales Tax, and Informality -- Introduction -- Stylized Facts on Informality -- Theory and Model -- Calibration and Estimation -- Counterfactual Analysis -- Conclusion -- Annex 3A: The Downstream Index -- Annex 3B: Calculating the Share of Formal Inputs and Output -- Annex 3C: Background on Indian Tax Reform -- Annex 3D: Model Solution -- Annex 3E: A Granular Look at the Informal Sector -- Annex 3F: The Simulated Method of Moments Estimator -- Annex 3G: Moments and Cutoff Productivity -- Notes -- References |
|
Chapter 4 Responses of Firms to Taxation and the Link to Informality: Evidence from India's GST -- Introduction -- Tax Policy and Informality in South Asia and India -- Data -- Elasticity of Sales to the Tax Rate -- Implications for Tax Policy in the Region -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 5 Small Businesses and Online Sales in India -- Introduction -- Background: Online Retail in India -- Data and Descriptive Statistics -- Results -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References |
|
Chapter 6 What Is the Role of Socioemotional Skills in Supporting South Asia's Informal Sector Poor: Insights from Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- Introduction -- The (New) Role of Socioemotional Skills in the Labor Market -- Insights from Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- Enhancing Socioemotional Skills through Programs among the Informal Poor -- Annex 6A: Correlation Coefficients between Variables, Pakistan LSS and Sri Lanka STEP -- Annex 6B: Estimation of the Impacts of Socioemotional Skills -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 7 Workers at Risk: Panel Data Evidence on the COVID-19 Labor Market Crisis in India -- Introduction |
| Summary |
Informality remains widespread in South Asia despite decades of economic growth. The low earnings and high vulnerability in the informal sector make this a major development issue for the region. Yet, there is no consensus on its causes and consequences, with the debate polarized between a view that informality is a problem of regulatory evasion and should be eradicated, and another that equates informality with economic exclusion. Recent advances in analyzing informality as the outcome of firm dynamics in distorted economic environments can help reconcile them. Building on these advances, the approach adopted in this volume clarifies that there are different types of informality, with different drivers and consequences. The report has four main messages that underscore the need for a multipronged strategy. First, informality in South Asia is dominated by firms that happen to be outside the purview of regulations because they are small, as opposed to those that remain small to escape regulations. Second, reforms of business regulations tend to have small direct effects on the informal sector, although they could have sizable indirect impacts on it if they succeed in removing major inefficiencies in the broader economy. Third, e-commerce platforms offer new opportunities to informal firms and workers, but many of them lack complementary skills or credit to benefit from such technologies. Fourth, a combination of contributory and non-contributory programs recognizing the heterogenous saving capacities of informal workers may be necessary to achieve more universal coverage of social insurance |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references |
| Notes |
Description based on resource, viewed March 2, 2023 |
| Subject |
Informal sector (Economics) -- South Asia
|
|
Informal sector (Economics) -- Taxation -- South Asia
|
|
Informal sector (Economics)
|
|
Informal sector (Economics) -- Taxation
|
|
South Asia
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Bussolo, Maurizio, 1964- editor.
|
|
Sharma, Siddharth, editor.
|
| ISBN |
9781464818363 |
|
1464818363 |
|
