Showing 1-12 of 36 Publications
Journal Article

Measurement and mirage: The informal sector revisited

Policy Brief

Why the Informal Sector Is Not a Tax Goldmine

An informal market in downtown Harare, Zimbabwe.
September 2025|
Blog

Why working with – not against – the informal economy is essential: some lessons from Zimbabwe

by Ian Scoones

In Zimbabwe, the informal economy makes up 76% of the national economy and what to do about it is the big question troubling policymakers….

Research in Brief

Norms, Power, and the Socially Embedded Realities of Market Taxation in Northern Ghana

Research in Brief

Unpacking Informality for Tax Purposes: Evidence from Urban Zimbabwe

Policy Brief

Tax and Gender: Why Informality Matters

Journal Article

Furthering a feminist fiscal agenda: Engendering tax and development

Wide shot of a large group of people facing the camera.
March 2025|
Blog

Reasons to be Optimistic about Tax and the Informal Sector

by Max Gallien & Vanessa van den Boogaard

There are many reasons to be anxious about the taxation of informal sectors in lower income…

News
A man writes on a flipchart.
February 2025
ICTD launches new collaborative project exploring tax policy in Ghana’s informal sector

Multi-stakeholder event in Accra see launch of new ICTD project building on years of research and policy dialogues, in partnership with WIEGO, on taxation and informal economies in Africa….

Policy Brief

Simplified Taxation in Africa: What We Know – and Need to Know

Event
An aerial shot of a busy market place.
18 February 2025 - 21 February 2025
Workshop: Tax and Informal Economies in Africa: Charting Ways Forward

ICTD is hosting a focused workshop in Akosombo, Ghana from 18th to 21st February 2024 that seeks to chart new ways forward in how revenue authorities engage with informal economies….

picture of Makola market in Ghana
January 2025|
Blog

Effective and Equitable Formalisation within the Financing for Development Agenda

by Max Gallien

Max Gallien argues for key changes to the draft text of the Financing for Development outcome document, given that dominant strategies for formalising and taxing the informal economy are often ineffective and highly regressive. …

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