{"id":109721,"date":"2025-09-05T14:15:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T07:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/?post_type=itd-data-center&#038;p=109721"},"modified":"2025-09-05T14:15:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T07:15:46","slug":"68_49","status":"publish","type":"itd-data-center","link":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/","title":{"rendered":"The Informal Economy and Informal Labor in the Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term \u201cinformal economy\u201d is a subject of continuous and significant interest, especially within the context of developing countries. <strong>This is due to its significant link to the national economic policies, which are crucial for achieving inclusive growth<\/strong> and reducing social inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When considers the definition of the informal economy, it might bring to mind economic systems, comprising illegal, tax-evading, or \u201cgray-area\u201d businesses, such as telephone or internet scams, drug trafficking, gambling, and human trafficking. However, based on the definition provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO), <strong>the informal economy refers to <\/strong><strong>\u201c<\/strong><strong>All economic activities by workers and economic units that are, in law or in practice, not covered or are insufficiently covered by formal arrangements.<\/strong><strong>\u201d<\/strong> This definition primarily encompasses small-scale, household-level, or individual businesses with a small number of workers. Moreover, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines the informal economy as \u201cactivities that have market value and would add to tax revenue and GDP if they were recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The terms <\/strong><strong>\u201c<\/strong><strong>informal economy<\/strong><strong>\u201d<\/strong><strong> and <\/strong><strong>\u201c<\/strong><strong>informal <\/strong><strong>labor\u201d<\/strong><strong> are distinct. Informal <\/strong><strong>labor <\/strong><strong>is a broader concept<\/strong>, referring to the total number of jobs outside the formal system, regardless of whether the work is performed within a formal or informal business. For example, a daily-wage employee in a legally registered business who is not a permanent worker and, therefore, does not receive social welfare benefits from their employer, is considered an informally employed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recent estimates from World Economics on the proportion of the informal economy (as a percentage of GDP) indicate that <strong>most countries in Southeast Asia have a significantly higher share than developed countries in East Asia. For instance, Myanmar (52.6%), Cambodia (49.1%), and Thailand (42.1%) have much higher percentages compared to countries like Japan (10.3%), Hong Kong (14.7%), and Taiwan (19.7%).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Structurally, informal labors in Asia are mostly concentrated in the agricultural or service sectors, such as farmers and street vendors. Furthermore, <strong>education level is a critical factor influencing the opportunity for formal employment<\/strong>. <strong>A staggering 90% of <\/strong><strong>labor<\/strong><strong>s with a primary school education are engaged in informal work, compared to only 31% of those with a tertiary education. This highlights a persistent issue of unequal access to educational opportunities, which forces many workers to rely on the informal economy for their living.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The significantly lower proportion of the informal economy in developed Asian countries like Japan and Hong Kong is not merely coincidental, but it reflects the strong correlation between economic structure and social development. <strong>Enhancing industries and promoting inclusive human capital development are crucial for creating more formal sector jobs. This transition allows workers to move from low-productivity agricultural sectors to more productive manufacturing sectors, which, in turn, contributes to sustainable economic development without inequality.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\">Author:<br>Mr. Atit Saerepaiboonsub<br>Senior Researcher<br>International Institute for Trade and Development (Public Organization)<br>www.itd.or.th<br>Publication: Bangkok BIZ Newspaper<br>Section: First Section\/World Beat<br>Volume: 38 Issue: 12981<br>Date: Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025<br>Page: 8 (bottom)<br>Column: \u201cAsean Insight\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":501,"featured_media":109722,"template":"","categories":[35,29],"tags":[352,1248,1247,1246,1254,1245,1255],"class_list":["post-109721","itd-data-center","type-itd-data-center","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article-en","category-data-center-en","tag-asean-en","tag-economic-inequality","tag-education-and-employment","tag-inclusive-economic-growth","tag-informal-economy-2","tag-informal-labor","tag-southeast-asia-2"],"pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Informal Economy and Informal Labor in the Asia - ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Informal Economy and Informal Labor in the Asia - ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The term \u201cinformal economy\u201d is a subject of continuous and significant interest, especially within the context of developing countries. This is due to its significant link to the national economic...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-05T07:15:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/en\\\/itd-data-center\\\/68_49\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/en\\\/itd-data-center\\\/68_49\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Informal Economy and Informal Labor in the Asia - ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/en\\\/itd-data-center\\\/68_49\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/en\\\/itd-data-center\\\/68_49\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-05T07:15:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-05T07:15:46+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/en\\\/itd-data-center\\\/68_49\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/en\\\/itd-data-center\\\/68_49\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/\",\"name\":\"ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development\",\"description\":\"\u0e2a\u0e16\u0e32\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e19\u0e23\u0e30\u0e2b\u0e27\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e40\u0e17\u0e28\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1e\u0e31\u0e12\u0e19\u0e32 (\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e4c\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e21\u0e2b\u0e32\u0e0a\u0e19)\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u0e2a\u0e16\u0e32\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e19\u0e23\u0e30\u0e2b\u0e27\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e40\u0e17\u0e28\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1e\u0e31\u0e12\u0e19\u0e32 (\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e4c\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e21\u0e2b\u0e32\u0e0a\u0e19)\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Logo-ITD.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Logo-ITD.png\",\"width\":515,\"height\":515,\"caption\":\"\u0e2a\u0e16\u0e32\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e19\u0e23\u0e30\u0e2b\u0e27\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e40\u0e17\u0e28\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1e\u0e31\u0e12\u0e19\u0e32 (\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e4c\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e21\u0e2b\u0e32\u0e0a\u0e19)\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.itd.or.th\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Informal Economy and Informal Labor in the Asia - ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Informal Economy and Informal Labor in the Asia - ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development","og_description":"The term \u201cinformal economy\u201d is a subject of continuous and significant interest, especially within the context of developing countries. This is due to its significant link to the national economic...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/","og_site_name":"ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development","article_modified_time":"2025-09-05T07:15:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/","url":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/","name":"The Informal Economy and Informal Labor in the Asia - ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-05T07:15:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-05T07:15:46+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/itd-data-center\/68_49\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Article-A49-68-Web-FB-Eng.jpg","width":1200,"height":1200},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/","name":"ITD - International Institute for Trade and Development","description":"\u0e2a\u0e16\u0e32\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e19\u0e23\u0e30\u0e2b\u0e27\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e40\u0e17\u0e28\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1e\u0e31\u0e12\u0e19\u0e32 (\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e4c\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e21\u0e2b\u0e32\u0e0a\u0e19)","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/#organization","name":"\u0e2a\u0e16\u0e32\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e19\u0e23\u0e30\u0e2b\u0e27\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e40\u0e17\u0e28\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1e\u0e31\u0e12\u0e19\u0e32 (\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e4c\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e21\u0e2b\u0e32\u0e0a\u0e19)","url":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Logo-ITD.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Logo-ITD.png","width":515,"height":515,"caption":"\u0e2a\u0e16\u0e32\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e19\u0e23\u0e30\u0e2b\u0e27\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e40\u0e17\u0e28\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e04\u0e49\u0e32\u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1e\u0e31\u0e12\u0e19\u0e32 (\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e4c\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e21\u0e2b\u0e32\u0e0a\u0e19)"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/itd-data-center\/109721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/itd-data-center"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/itd-data-center"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itd.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}