The Informal Economy in Ghana: A Comparative Perspective

Co-hosted by the Ghana Statistical Service and WIEGO
October 24, 2005
La Palm Royal Beach Hotel
Accra, Ghana

The term “informal sector” was coined in Ghana in 1971 by a British anthropologist who was studying the economic activities of low-income communities in Accra. The informal economy, as it is now called and defined, is comprised of self-employment in small unregistered enterprises and wage employment in unregulated and unprotected jobs. In developing countries, informal employment comprises one half to three quarters of non-agricultural employment. In Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, informal employment comprises nearly 80 per cent of non-agricultural employment. In Ghana today, informal employment represents over 90 per cent of total employment.

An international conference on “The Informal Economy in Ghana: A Comparative Perspective” was held at the La Palm Hotel in Accra from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, October 24, 2005. The purpose of the conference was:

• to highlight the size, composition, and significance of the informal economy in Ghana and other developing countries
• to identify the needs and constraints faced by the informal workforce, including street vendors, home-based producers, cocoa farmers, and casual day labourers in construction and agriculture
• to discuss what is being done – and should be done – to address the needs and constraints faced by the informal workforce, including policy responses and organizing efforts.

Speakers and discussants at the conference included:

Participants in the conference included representatives from the policy making, research, statistical, and activist communities in Ghana, as well as representatives from a global network called Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO).

WIEGO is a global research-policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy through better statistics, research, programmes, and policies and through increased organization and representation of informal workers. The individuals and institutions in the WIEGO network are drawn from three broad constituencies: membership-based organizations of informal workers; research, statistical, and academic institutions; and development agencies of various types (governmental, inter-governmental, and non-governmental). The common motivation for those who join the network is the lack of sufficient recognition and support for the informal economy, especially the women who work in it, by policy makers and the international development community.

Founded in 1997, the WIEGO network has grown significantly in size, capacity, and reputation over the past eight years. WIEGO’s programme activities center around four core themes: globalization, urban policies, social protection, and issues of organization and representation.  It also has a major programme that works with the international statistical system and national statistical offices to improve statistics on the informal economy. WIEGO is governed by a 15-member Steering Committee and facilitated by a 4-person Secretariat.  WIEGO also has part-time directors for each of its five programme areas, more than 500 members and associates from over 150 countries, and programme activities at any given time in over 30 countries.

Members of the WIEGO network from Ghana, who participated in the international seminar, included:

Members of the WIEGO network from other countries, who also participated in the international seminar, included: