Much of the global economy remains underground

[xchrom]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mu-2012-01-13

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (MarketWatch) — A $10 trillion underground street economy that will employ two-thirds of the world’s workers by 2020 has been uncovered.

Robert Neuwirth, in his book “Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy,” treks through the developing world and finds small, informal — sometimes illegal — enterprises are changing the shape of the global economy.

I believe him because I have seen it myself. And if you have ever traveled about developing nations, you have too. Those kiosks and small stores selling the basics where you can find pretty much everything and anything from cigarettes to pirated DVDs, employ a large chunk of the world’s population — half at the present time, according to Neuwirth — and outsell Wal-Mart. Indeed, big brands know this.

He cites numerous examples of brands from Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, among mobile providers and others that distribute their products via this network — sometimes knowingly and sometimes not.

[n2doc]

1. Maybe Alternative is a better term

Or unregulated. They are out in the open in most countries. I remember in Peru one could get DVD's of any movie release within a few days of opening night. They were crappy copies made by someone with a camera in a movie theater, but there were available even in towns very far away from the main highways.

[xchrom]

2. a diiferent term is fine by me -- what they're really saying is that 'mom&pops'

have found different ways of popping up.

i mean i know it's deeper than this -- but if giants keep taking self employment opportunities away - people will find ways around them.

i'm not big on the piracy thing -- but i understand why it happens.

[ge626dfil]

4. good point

[bemildred]

3. I have no idea what he means by "informal".

It's clear it's not the same as "illegal" because the writer distinguishes them. Maybe he means something like "unreported" or "unregulated", or even "unincorporated".

[Jkid]

5. Apparently that's where most of the people looking for proper jobs end up getting hired in.