Dn industrialized countries, it has become the custom to consider labor markets as the place where supply and demand meet. However, in an African environment where self-employment and micro-entrepreneurship constitute the dominant mode of integration into the labor market, the very border between labor supply and demand becomes blurred.
Informality is the norm in Africa.
The norm is a border moving. The norm indeed has an axiological dimension that must be considered and respected. It is the same for African economies, which are flourishing, somehow in the informal sector[1]. In this analysis, it is not a question of apologizing for informality but of presenting it as an alternative for inclusive development and structural transformation of Africa.
Figure 1: 6 of 10's fastest growing economies are in Africa. @CI, 2018
According to the International Monetary Fund[2] (IMF), 6's 10 fastest growing economies in 2018 are located in Africa. Ethiopia with 8,3% growth, is in the lead the most dynamic economies, followed by Ghana , according to IMF forecasts. The economic recovery continues throughout sub-Saharan Africa where it is the informal sector that drives and propels change. And as another study attests[3] from the French Development Agency (AFD):
“Most jobs in developing countries (DCs) are found in the informal economy […]. One can even think that the world economic crisis reinforces the weight of the informal sector because of the job losses affecting the other sectors of economic activity. Better understanding the functioning of the economies of these countries therefore requires a better knowledge of the informal sector. "
Would promoting the informal sector be more beneficial?
Many workers and economic units choose to escape state control because it would be too costly for them to comply with the legislation. And in many cases, compelling them to comply with these rules would not result in greater economic efficiencyeven if they were to contribute to the financing of the public goods they benefit from. It is essential to take this reality into account and to avoid a normative view of the formality when analyzing labor markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Figure 2: Incidence of informal employment by region
As can be seen in this figure, the informal sector generates more employment than formal employment in Latin America, Asia and Africa. In Egypt, for example, the number of employees in the informal sector is almost equal to that in the informal sector. public. It's a lifeline in the face of the jobs crisis. In Senegal, the General Census of Enterprises (RGE) published at the end of the first quarter of 2017, out of some 407 “economic units” counted, more than half carry out their activity in commerce. However, “more than 000% are sole proprietorships and 96% of the economic units listed are informal”. Informality is therefore essential for the fight against poverty.
« A well-functioning labor market is not necessarily synonymous with a formal labor market[4]»
in this regard, Martin Rama, Director of the 2013 World Development Report, in his preface to AFD's book on urban labor markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Indeed, the majority of economic activities in Africa are informal, followed by public sector jobs. Informality is the norm. This is a capital issue because neglecting the operators of the informal market is exposing oneself to socio-political crises; like the “Arab Spring” of 2011, which began in Tunisia with the self-immolation of an informal street vendor of fruit and vegetables mistreated by the police.
Does education influence orientation towards the informal sector?
Informal activities are not just about survival strategies but about free and conscious choices of African people. There are a number real micro-entrepreneurs. It would therefore be interesting to know whether the level of education, and therefore[5] influences this orientation towards the formal economy. In other words, are the workers in the informal sector there deliberately or is it a stopgap, a spare wheel when there is no way out in the public and private sector?
Pierre Tegoum, will look at the issue, with as an analytical framework Cameroon[6]. It shows that education plays a fundamental role in the professional situation of people working in Cameroon. Integration into the informal sector is mainly determined by the family context. In addition, the probability of entering the informal sector decreases with education, while the probability of being unemployed and entering the formal sector increases with educational attainment. It is therefore necessary to improve the accessibility and quality of education, at least up to the first cycle of secondary education.
Conclusion
Our aim was to show that the informal sector is a vector of local development and bottom-up integration in Africa. Its formalization can contribute to the structural transformation and sustainable of Africa. Decision-makers must make the informal sector a real partner in development and integration policy in Africa[7]. Because current growth is not enough, it is an economic and social transformation that Africa needs. Public policies will be needed to encourage economic diversification, enhance competitiveness and promote more job-creating and value-creating activities on African soil.
[1] As a reminder, the IMF has redefined the framework of the informal sector. For the institution “this term includes family businesses that produce a certain market value without being registered and more broadly, underground production resulting from productive activities that are the work of registered businesses, but may not be declared to the authorities in to evade regulations or taxes, or because they are simply illegal. "
[2] IMF, “World Economic Outlook, April 2018”, IMF, accessed June 22, 2018, https://www.imf.org/fr/Publications/WEO/Issues/2018/03/20/world-economic- outlook-april-2018.
[3] Jean-Pierre Cling et al. The informal economy in developing countries (AFD, 2012).
[4] DE VREYER Philippe and ROUBAUD François, eds., Urban labor markets in sub-Saharan Africa, IRD / AFD, Africa Development Forum (Marseille: IRD Publishing, 2013)., P. 11.
[5] «Qualification in Africa: paradigm shift towards the development of technical and professional skills | ADEA ”, consulted on June 20, 2018, http://www.adeanet.org/fr/blogs/la-qualification-en-afrique-changement-de-paradigme-vers-le-developpement-des-competences.
[6] Pierre Nguetse Tegoum, “2.2. Analysis of returns to education in the informal sector in Cameroon [40] ”, The informal economy in developing countries, 2012, 1129.
[7] Issofou Njifen, "Informality: a new paradigm of development and integration" from below "in Africa", African Development Review 26, no S1 (s. D.): 21-32, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12090.
