On the Informal Economy

From Hann and Hart's chapter 'Unequal Development', of particular interest to me is the section on The Informal Economy. With the informal economy said to be at about "70-90 percent of the African national economies", and differentiating between the legal and illegal forms of capitalism (Hann and Hart 116), I agree with the author that harnessing from, or integrating the informal economy has the potential to raise the living standards of people. Given that the so-called black market has continued to grow alongside globalization and economic liberalization, I think it can it be assumed that it is not a phase of development through which 'third-world' go through in a bid to reach development. Because of the economic opportunities that the informal sector offers, and given the structural failures(especially corruption at the governmental level of some countries in the developing world), to remedy the negative effects of informal economic activityI  believe that it goes beyond just policy changes in a country. Oft-times, as has been evidenced by past experiences with the international organizations such as the World Bank, third world countries have little say, in negotiating the terms of agreements. In a world where terms of trade are controlled by superpower countries, the markets continually favor the interests of the 'first-world'. I think that the plight of the 'third-world' is deep-rooted in our current economic system and in nations modeling, and aspiring towards Western economic systems.