Informality is ubiquitous in most developing countries. Understanding the informal economy is therefore of utmost importance from a political, economic and social point of view. Paradoxically, despite its economic importance, knowledge is extremely limited regarding the informal economy. It remains largely unrecognized by researchers, is neglected by politicians, and is even negatively perceived as it is meant to disappear with development.

Part 1. 1. Labor Informality and Poverty in Latin America. The Case of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru 2. Working in the Informal Sector: A Free Choice or an Obligation? An Analysis of Job Satisfaction in Vietnam 3. Intergenerational Transmission of Self-Employed Atatus in the Informal Sector: A Constrained Choice or better Income Prospects? Evidence from Seven West-African Countries 4. Integration of Formal and Informal Sectors in Craft Villages of the Red River Delta (Vietnam) 5. Social Insurance and Informal Economy in Vietnam: The Challenge of an Universal Coverage Part 2. 6. Efficiency of Informal Production Units and its Determinants: Applying the Quantile Regression Method in the Case of Antananarivo 7. Estimating the Returns to Education in the Informal Sector : The Case of Cameroon 8. Does Corruption Matter for Informal Sector Economic Performance? Microdata Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa 9. Does forced Solidarity Hamper Entrepreneurial Activity? Evidence from Seven West-African Countries 10. The Political Economy of Micro Entrepreneurship: Why Does Microcredit Fail to Promote Self-Employment in Rural South-India? Part 3. 11. Informal versus Formal: A Panel Data Analysis of Earnings Gaps in Madagascar 12. Do limits exist to informality growth in South America? A preliminary exploration 13. Long term dynamic of the Labour market in Thailand: Transitions between the Formal and Informal Sectors 14. Dynamics of Informal Microenterprises and Poverty in Peru: A Panel Approach 15. Informality, Crisis and Public Policies in Vietnam

Jean-Pierre Cling, economist, Ministry of Foreign affairs, Paris, and associate member of DIAL (mixed research unit IRD/University Paris Dauphine), Paris, France.

Stéphane Lagrée, coordinator of the bureau for francophone cooperation, Vietnam Academy of Social Science, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Mireille Razafindrakoto, senior researchfellow at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) and a member of DIAL (mixed research unit IRD/ University of Paris Dauphine), Paris, France.

François Roubaud, senior research fellow at the IRD and a member of DIAL, Paris, France.