Analysis of the concept of informal economy through 102 definitions: legality or necessity

The processes of informal economy are well established, but the same cannot be said of their conceptual treatment in the academic literature. They constitute complex phenomena that cut across sectors and disciplines and give rise to other elements that simultaneously reject and encourage them. For many formal stakeholders in the economy, they are an enemy to be beaten; for the authorities, informal activity is seen as a loss of revenue for the state coffers; for the Sustainable Development Goals, by implicitly recognizing them in goal 8, they constitute a paradigm shift. Meanwhile, the reality for those involved in the informal economy is that it is a way of life and not a mere choice, one that leads to the most social of all economies: that of necessity. There is no consensus among academics on informality and its ramifications, hence the need to analyze the processes of informal economy from its theoretical construction with the purpose of discovering its range and depth, as well as its interrelationships and theoretical implications. To achieve this, 102 definitions of informal economy were analyzed by identifying and deconstructing their dimensions and performing a frequency count of their citation in Google Scholar. This analysis demonstrated the lack of cultural elements in the definitions, which are the true underlying cause of the phenomenon, and the over-prominence afforded to legal dimensions.


Introduction
The world progresses, but its principal problems of poverty and inequality remain.Much of globalized society is engrossed in what they see as the pressing reality of climate change, derived from the exhaustion and mistreatment of the earth, and exacerbated by the unprecedented consumption of goods and services.Meanwhile, another part lives in an abyss of labor exploitation that is either overt and unabashed, or disguised through the legal processes of outsourcing, relocation, and international fragmentation of the value chain.Corruption and economic domination have produced a new de facto social class in developed countries: the precariat (Guamán & Luque, 2019;Luque et al., 2016;Standing, 2013).A great part of the world's citizens finds themselves in this chasm, having been forced out of their natural ecosystem (Sassen, 2015); in this abyss, any means of survival is valid including the processes of the informal economy.These comprise more than 90% of micro and small enterprises (MYPE) globally (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2019) as well as a significant part of the rural economy in developing countries (ILO, 2020b).In fact, the informal economy accounts for 10-20% of GDP in well-established economies and up to 60% in emerging economies (Schneider & Enste, 2002), and two billion people worldwide are employed informally, which represents more than 60% of the global workforce.93% of all informal employment is in emerging and developing countries: in Africa, 85.8% of jobs are informal; the proportion is 68.2% in Asia and the Pacific, 68.6% in the Arab States, 40.0% in the Americas, and 25.1% in Europe and Central Asia (ILO, 2018).In Latin America and the Caribbean, about 140 million workers are in a situation of informality; according to Salazar-Xirinachs and Chacaltana (2018, p.15): "These are workers who are not covered by labor law and are not, therefore, subject to the relevant formal regulations of the world of work or employment justice; they make no social security contributions and, consequently, do not participate in the welfare state or the social contract that characterizes modern societies; they mostly have lowproductivity jobs and, as a result, their incomes are low.At worst, many of them live in poverty or extreme poverty; and at best, they comprise what analysts call "vulnerable groups".
In response to this panorama, the member states of the United Nations agreed on the creation of the 2030 Agenda (https:// sdgs.un.org/2030agenda), which covers the three dimensions of sustainability (the economic, the social, and the environmental), and includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (https://sdgs.un.org/goals)The eighth of these SDGs has the aim of promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.It is estimated that more than 600 million new jobs will have to be created by 2030 bearing in mind that 780 million people do not currently earn enough to keep them above the poverty line of $2 per day (ILO, 2020a).Consequently, the International Labour Organization (ILO) recommendation No. 204 on the transition from the informal to the formal economy (ILO, 2015) mandates that the creation and sustainability of enterprises and decent jobs be facilitated and promoted, and steps be taken to prevent the informalization of employment.
Given the scale of the issue and the potential remedies being sought by international bodies, it is necessary to analyze the factors that contribute to the development of processes of informality in order to better define the dimensions involved.This study is based on a conceptual analysis with the specific aim of clarifying whether informality is concerned only with economic aspects or whether conditions of greater depth or interconnectedness are involved (see Table 1; Luque, 2021).These conditions are often overlooked in definitions of informality but can have an important role to play.

The processes of informality and the development of its terminology
The term 'informal sector' was initially coined in 1972 in an ILO employment advisory mission to Kenya; from there it developed to 'informal economy', making it clear that informality is not limited to a 'sector', but is an alternative way of conducting almost all economic activity (ILO, 2020c).The basic definition of informality includes elements of conflict and cooperation (Thompson & Smith, 2009) as well as compatibility with the processes of marginality and economic domination (Castells & Portes, 1989a;Harvey, 2007).Informality is measurable (ILO, 2013), but it involves multiple heterogeneous causes, situations, and phenomena of great magnitude and depth, extending to aspects of self-employment (Slavnic, 2010).However, it is possible to distinguish between the origin and the nature of informality: Mars (1982) approached the subject extensively from the point of view of why workers seek illicit remuneration for carrying out their activities.The processes of informality are imbued with strong cultural components characterized in turn by common denominators such as the lack of decent employment or the conditions that provide it (although, in certain cases, informal workers receive better wages than permanent, formal workers (Chen et al., 2005).
According to de soto (1989, p.11), informality is technically an illegal activity, albeit one that lacks "antisocial intent".From a business perspective, the impact of this is limited

Amendments from Version 1
In this case, indications and advice seem entirely constructive, with the clear purpose of improving the study.Understandably, we have had to balance comments with some of the recommendations of the other readers and reviewers in order to avoid contradictions in the text.I enjoy the challenge of incorporating corrections and suggestions and the process, of course, helps all writers to grow, learn and avoid future mistakes, 1) The results of Tables are now better explained, 2) The limits are better explained.
Any further responses from the reviewers can be found at the end of the article (Khavul et al., 2009;Siqueira & Bruton, 2010) notwithstanding the doubts expressed by many academics and experts in management and entrepreneurship (Ram et al., 2017).In fact, there may be informal, unregistered enterprises that, through their activity, receive revenue from the legal production of goods and services (Bruton et al., 2012, p 1).In the view of the Among the characteristics of informal work is a lack of definition of the place in which the activity takes place, a lack of schedules and working hours, deficient means and resources, and irregularity of income; additionally, it is often carried out in an insecure and unhealthy environment without any kind of employment or social protection.Payment for the production of goods and services is typically unregistered in order to evade taxation, social security payments, and to avoid legal requirements (Williams & Windebank, 1998, p. 4).
The causes of informality are many, but the economic context in a country is the decisive factor, followed by the legal situation, political stability, and certain microeconomic circumstances such as poor education, discrimination of all kinds (including that which is legally sanctioned), and various aspects of deprivation that lead to limited access to decent housing (both for rent and property).This is compounded by lack of access to financial services and, in turn, to markets (despite the constant rise of the cooperative sector, which offers savings and credit).Many studies show that the burdens associated with tax and social welfare systems are the key drivers of the growth of the informal economy (Alm et al., 2006;Dell'Anno, 2003;Tanzi, 1980).Indeed, widespread and inflexible regulations also push an increasing number of workers and companies to join the informal sector (Hoa, 2019).This over-zealous regulation combines with the processes of economic recession to favor models of disruptive economy.Companies such as Uber (https://www.uber.com),Glovo (https://glovoapp.com/), Cabify (https://cabify.com),Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.co.uk/),OpenTable (https://www.opentable.co.uk/),Yelp (https://www.yelp.com),Deliveroo (https://deliveroo.com),and the giants, Amazon (https://www.amazon.com)or AliExpress (https://www.aliexpress.com),inherently offer little social coverage, taking advantage of the cracks in labor law deregulation to empower themselves and overrun the economic system, having forced out the traditional companies in their sector.

Poverty as an element of disruption and domination
Poverty is not incompatible with richness of spirit.Nonetheless, economic deprivation conditions much of human existence, above all, quality of life and the prospects of the next generation.Poverty has detrimental consequences even for the lives of the rich: a society in which greater equality is achieved on the basis of the processes of true equity and a state that implements strong social policies will tend to be more peaceful and settled and obtain greater cost savings (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2011).However, certain companies exploit the model of necessity, which consists in eroding any type of social assistance (the welfare state) and using the processes of corporate social responsibility to disguise the deficiencies of the care system.Such models rely entirely on goodwill but lack any enforceability (Ruggie, 2001).The situation is aggravated by the ability of states to displace their policy commitments and social responsibility obligations with the blessing of supranational organizations (Luque & Álvarez, 2021;Mason, 2016;Passet, 2013).At the same time, processes of corruption are occasionally sponsored by (usually transnational) companies in order to undermine the labor market, while monopsony stretches the very fabric of small and medium-sized enterprises (Luque, 2018).It should be noted that many developing economies and models in transition demonstrate that informal economies of considerable size can coexist with the expansion of the formal economy and achieve good growth results (ILO, 2014, p. 9).
"Many factories repeatedly issued unlawful short-term contracts to avoid paying workers maternity and other benefits, and to intimidate and control them.Small factories that subcontract to larger export-oriented factories are more likely to hire workers on a casual basis, making it harder for workers to assert their rights because they risk being easily fired.Apparel brands have not taken adequate steps to end the illegal short-term contracts in their supplier factories-even where their supplier codes of conduct have clauses limiting their use."(Human Rights Watch, 2015) Faced with this situation, much of the public, committed to preserving their quality of life, look for easy credit (often accepting usurious interests) to the extent that uncontrolled debt becomes a social leitmotif.Many governments mirror this credit debt on a global scale (World Bank, 2020).In developed countries, gambling has become widespread, and bookmakers have multiplied, encouraged by the state, whether as a kind of social anesthesia or as a squalid source of tax revenue (Humphreys et al., 2020;Lopez-Gonzalez et al., 2019).According to Francisco and Bergoglio "The culture of relativism is the same pathology that makes one person take advantage of another and treat them as a mere object, pushing them into forced labor, or making them a slave to debt" (2015, p. 95).From new forms of poverty emerge new classes of the poor: the victims of climate, politics, economics and hunger, they range from refugees to academics (Oliván & Luque, 2019).According to Beck: "The rich, who coincidentally are the most resourceful and powerful actors on the political scene, do not need the poor even for the salvation of their souls (which, in any case, they do not believe they have and whose care they would not consider worthy of their interest), nor even to continue being rich, nor yet to grow even richer (which they believe would be easier if there were no need to share a portion of their wealth among the poor)."(Beck, 1998, p.90).

Methods
The work presented here is not intended as an encyclopedic treatise but is rather an attempt to bring together a wide variety of methodological approaches that reflect both the conceptual evolution and the cross-disciplinary elements that comprise the study of the informal economy.The constructs themselves include aspects far removed from the needs or existing realities of the phenomenon, making them complex to understand (Han, 2020).The study undertook an analysis of reasoned theoretical approaches that contain epistemological problems, which highlights the difficulty of providing generalized solutions to the many questions and dilemmas that surround this topic (Fourez, 1994).The study consisted of three steps: 1) A search was carried out for definitions of the informal economy and related constructs through the existing literature using indexed databases, which in turn were part of Google Scholar (https:// scholar.google.com/).The selection of the indexed academic databases to be used were: Web of Science, Scopus and Latindex with no time limit on date of publication or type of paper.Both English language and Spanish publications were included in the search between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020.102 definitions were found by this method between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020 (see Table 8; Luque, 2021).Figure 1 provides a summary of the steps carried out in the process of definition selection with inclusion criteria and subsequent categorization.From this, a large group of 102 linked units of analysis (UA) was obtained, which was used to define the concept under study (see Table 8; Luque, 2021) and to convert verbal or visual data into numerical data for the purposes of analysis (Bourque, 2004).
2) Seven dimensions were identified through content analysis by applying a manual coding-approximation process, from which the general description and, subsequently, the scope of each dimension were obtained as outlined below.3) A frequency count in Google Scholar of all definitions was performed, measuring the impact through citations to then calculate the relative use of each dimension.It is necessary to understand that the relationship of the identified constructs is not of equal significance, the most widely used having a greater impact (Donahue et al., 2015;Howes & Solomon, 1951;Kageura & Umino, 1996;Luque & Herrero-García, 2019;Murphy, 1992).
The relative usage of each definition can be obtained by comparing the frequency counts in an internet search engine.It is empirically evident that the internet provides frequency counts that are of great validity compared to other linguistic databases.Google Scholar, an engine specialized in scientific-academic searches that orders results by relevance, is one of the most effective free-access academic search engines globally.
Establishing the dimensions and manual coding scheme in informality processes The definitions were gathered through an extensive literature review, which consisted of journal articles, technical reports, and web pages.Dimension selection and classification was undertaken keeping in mind the depth, scope, and interconnectivity present in informal economic processes (Luque & Herrero-García, 2019).This was achieved through the following procedure: a) The basic ideas to be used in the structuring of informality processes were defined, which in turn would serve to guide the research design; b) Once all of the definitions and approximations had been read, their depth and implications were and expulsion, gentrification, and economic domination; the informal economy is a clear expression of a social response to these abuses that is both rapid and proportionate.The political dimension is based on the social organization of coexistence.Both individuals and their environment are placed at the center of the social construction and form its nucleus.The interests of any society share common elements such as beliefs and values but also dissonant aspects such as the organizational model, processes of exclusion (by act or omission), or priorities implicit in government interventions.Within this context, civil society articulates its mechanisms of action, including civil disobedience as legitimate protest; these include unlicensed selling, peaceful resistance or the adoption of policies within the regulated social economy.Indeed, these policies seek to address real needs rather than maximize the economic benefit of the democratic majority.The ruling classes tend to regard informal economic processes as a source of illicit income and a feature of those who abuse their citizenship status, even to the extent of seeing them as an anti-system element, yet the great majority carry out informal activities as a form of subsistence to avoid poverty or as a response to exclusion.The cultural dimension is not confined to intellectual aspects and also not reserved for the economic elite or well-off.Rather, it is a construct of accessible elements in continuous motion.Culture is not always clearly defined, but it constitutes all kinds of expressions and is a clear element of vitality in society, a predictor of freedom and development.It may be true that the informal economy has an element of the anti-establishment, but informality as a recourse to covering basic needs is a clear example of the strength of a democracy.The ethical dimension is a permeable membrane between effective decisionmaking by citizens involved in the informal economy and their practical consequences.There is clear freedom of action when it comes to choosing what to produce, how to produce it, and how it will be distributed with a clear social commitment.This is based less on accumulative processes of wealth and more on the common good.However, three underlying limitations emerge: 1) The personal, based on less avaricious imperatives that are limited by the legal system, the family, and environment; 2) The organizational, derived from corporate and public policies exempt from limitations or control and enjoying regulations tailored to their interests; 3) The social, in which many of the mechanisms for the detection and containment of systemic problems are ineffective.These limitations persist despite the knowledge of such pathologies within a society that, recognizing its own deficiencies, is lacking in the tools for their remedy (Bauman, 1999).The labor dimension not only analyzes the labor market or its characteristics, but the qualitative aspects of conditions for carrying out work for which legitimate access is denied by regulations.This dimension departs from the structuralist vision of development, taking an inclusive view of all kinds of activities that generate value within an ethical framework.Measures should be adopted to bring informal activities within the fold of the common good and in line with existing circumstances such as family and the ancestral traditions and practices of ethnic groups.To highlight this point, Italy's former ambassador to India and Iran, Roberto Toscano, when asked about labor protection systems, noted, "it seems clear to me that trade unionism has been observed and noted (Bulmer, 1979;Nosofsky, 1986); c) From there, a theoretical framework was built for each dimension, justified by their treatment in the existing academic literature: in this case, seven were required.The same systematization can be replicated for other research, adapting the number of dimensions in relation to the existing literature that justifies them; d) Each definition of informality was analyzed at a conceptual level to discover whether it contained the preconfigured implications in each one of the dimensions; if so, they were included in Table 8 for subsequent counting and analysis.Initially, the MAXQDA (https://www.maxqda.com/)program was to be used to carry out a semantic analysis, but eventually an iterative study carried out manually by the author was preferred due to the interpretive complexity of each informality structure identified.This procedure resulted in a grouping of related concepts through seven dimensions: economic (Eco), legal (Leg), social (Soc), political (Pol), cultural (Cul), ethical (Eth), and labor (Lab) (Table 1; Luque, 2021) (Rahman et al., 2019;Torugsa et al., 2013;Visser, 2006).
The economic dimension is directly related to the living conditions of people engaged in informal activities and, therefore, to informal economic processes.It must be made reasonably easy for all public-private actors to introduce more equitable and progressive aspects at the fiscal and legal level, and to articulate direct relationships between all types of companies and the immediate environment in which goods are produced or services are managed.The situation must also be open to regulation by understanding enterprises to be one more living element of the community rather than immovable and sacrosanct institutions.
The legal dimension considers the development and establishment of legislative and regulatory measures, especially those that have a bearing on the general interest.Among the most important are the processes of liberalization, with clear benefits for the ruling classes, such as: deregulation of markets; collusion of supranational bodies; lack of competition; protection of monopolies; creation of bespoke legislation; veiling of the activities of lobbies; caps on democratic processes; privatizations of profitable public enterprises; tax reforms in favor of the prevailing economic model; protection of economic rights over and above human rights.To these can be added regulatory asymmetries in free trade agreements with inadequate means of redress or democratic control, the imposition of private arbitration tribunals that undermine domestic jurisdiction as a means of dominating nation states, and the imposition of taxcontainment processes tailored to the needs of transnational corporations (Luque & de Pablos, 2016).The social dimension has a clear relationship with the processes of common welfare.
There is an overlap of interests and relationships between individuals and life in society since individuals need others to fulfill their requirements.Therefore, it is necessary to develop all available tools, both those that examine the endogenous factors inherent to continuous learning processes, and those of an exogenous nature derived from the environment and based on continuous feedback; both have quality of life as their common denominator.Society responds to threats and aggressions of all kinds, such as the processes of exclusion defeated in the most developed world, and hardly exists in the least developed: in India 90 percent of workers are "informal" (no employment contract, no rights, no trade unions)" (Luque et al., 2016, p.12).
Sequencing of the parameters of the informal economy According to the procedure described by Luque & Herrero-García (2019), the initial bibliographic search tentatively selected a series of constructs related to the informal economy and processes of informality as formulated by academics and/or experts on the subject through his already published indexed manuscripts (see Methods and Figure 1).Boolean searches for keywords, such as those set out in Table 1, were introduced, forming the basis of the combinatorial sets and the logic for the searches in Google Scholar of linked databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Latindex) between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020.Basic operators such as AND, OR and NOT connect the keywords for the searches to narrow down or expand the results.
In this context, the total UAs were manually categorized in an iterative sequence according to the conceptual fit of each UA in each of the seven previously formed hierarchies (dimensions and coding scheme of informality processes as set out in Table 1).These saturated in seven hierarchies: economic (Eco), legal (Leg), social (Soc), political (Pol), cultural (Cul), ethical (Eth) and labor (Lab) (Table 2).This categorization brings us closer to the empirical level, that is, to be able to analyze as concrete something originally defined as purely theoretical.This procedure can readily be applied to other lines of research and objects of study such as corruption, globalization, social economy or job insecurity.
The frequency count (f i ) was carried out in Google Scholar.The absolute frequencies, f i , in Table 1 are expressed according to f kj , which refers to the number of counts of a dimension, j (j = 1, …, 7), within each bibliographic citation, k.The extended sum of all z (the sum from 1 to 102) elements that contain dimension j gives the range of each dimension (Equation 1); by dividing by the total frequencies, their relative weighting is derived (Equation 2).The values obtained from these formulas are listed in Table 2.
Where, D j is the range of each dimension j.
f kj is the frequency of the citation k of a single dimension j.
Where, PD j is the relative weight of each dimension j, expressed as a % f i is the absolute frequency of the Google count of every k concept.

Results
Table 8 (Luque, 2021) provides the broad spectrum of published definitions of informal economy appearing in the literature (compiled between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020), together with their authors and the number of times they have been cited in the literature to date.
Table 2 more clearly exemplifies the data distribution.The number of hierarchical dimensions and the relative weight of each association in the Google Scholar frequency count is detailed below.
As can be seen, the economic dimension has the greatest range in Google Scholar, with 3,276 units of frequency; the social, political, and ethical hierarchies are of similar relative importance at approximately 50%, while the cultural construct is of residual importance according to this analysis.

Governing dominions and most significant connections: a tetrad model
The importance of the above parameters lies in their ability to support the dimensions that comprise the processes of informal economy.To this end, it is necessary to list a higher order in the distribution of UAs based on the number of domains associated with each of the 102 concepts.
The information derived from Table 3, shows that the ends of the curve correspond to the theoretical constructs of least relative importance (around 1% of the count in Google Scholar).These have, on the one hand, the largest number of possible dimensions, and on the other, are confined to a single dimension.In contrast, the greatest weighting corresponds to the UAs found within any four hierarchies -tetrads-which group together 26 of these UAs of higher-order (Table 3).These are highlighted in gray in Table 8, which also includes all of the analyzed concepts.Tetrads have 12,1 % more weighting (and therefore more citations) than triads in the Google Scholar count, despite containing 10 UAs fewer.The fact that the most likely association of UAs is made up of quartets, and not of dyads or triads, implies the need for a more sophisticated study of category interaction.This is set out below.
The tetrad model involves the combination of seven categories, in groups of four, resulting in 35 possible combinations.However, from the first-order categorization (Table 3), 10 of these emerge as the most likely, which are represented in Table 4.
The parameters associated with each individual category correspond to their relative weighting, expressed as a percentage.
Processes of informal economy are mainly represented by the Eco-Leg-Pol-Eth and Eco-Leg-Soc-Lab tetrads.Social status has a diminished presence here and the ethical and labor dimensions are weakly defined, if at all (for example, tetrads 10, 16 and 33 with weightings of 3.7, 1.4 and 0.4 respectively); cultural status is not involved in these processes.There is no doubt that informal economy processes include a plethora of activities and circumstances, which highlights the transcendence and influence that they collectively exercise on the organization of the economy.These aspects are the key to understanding informality but also appear to represent its greatest weakness, according to the definitions analyzed and the results obtained (Table 3 and Table 4).The economic dimension appears in eight of the tetrads and the legal dimension in seven, which shows a narrowness of vision in addressing the problem of informality that places economic rights before social rights, or in other words, considers the consequences as more important than the causes.Indeed, the social dimension appears only passively as part of a cause-effect relationship, without clear consideration of the affectation that communities may suffer when they are partly founded upon processes of informality.This economic primacy leads to regulatory action and a broad range of legislation that address this aspect to the detriment of cultural and ethical processes, despite these historically having been the drivers of society.Instead of integrating these  processes, they are marginalized and ignored.This is no mere accident since the debate has become increasingly dominated by a consumerist model and Ordoliberal philosophy, which create a partisan logic and tend to blur the vision of governments.It no longer matters who governs and who is in opposition: all parties favor the vested interests that inexorably displace traditional cultural processes of trade and life in society in favor of confiscatory policies and a casino economy, dressed up in the trappings of modernity and progress.The argument for establishing economic integration based on greater regulation and fiscal pressure in response to the processes of informality is clearly deficient when no corresponding cultural and ethical integrity is conveyed through a political organization linked to informality.In other words, the political solution to the processes of informality has been subordinated to regulation from above instead of action from below.Similarly, the definitions analyzed do not conclusively establish the distinction between what constitute informal as opposed to illegal activities; each have their own connotations, characteristics and identities imbued with social patterns in continuous flux, and there is empirical evidence that the depth and deployment of the processes of informality vary between countries.To give credence to national and supranational hyperregulation 2 and to criminalize informality processes in regions where informality is often the only vehicle to get out of poverty is to fail to appreciate the different approaches needed to this phenomenon, which, when understood and adapted to circumstances, is a clear tool for change, integration, innovation and wealth.Informal economy processes not only benefit those involved directly, but endogenously lead to a reduction in the production, distribution and consumption costs of those in the formal economy.Indeed, many formal workers can only afford to access informal goods and services and so it could be claimed that formal labor needs informality.Certainly, this is true in many of the underdeveloped and developing countries, which are, thereby, able to offset some of the inherent inequality, marginality and meagre social coverage provided by weak welfare systems.These processes contribute to greater political and social stability in disadvantaged regions, which is borne out by the evidence that many governments tacitly allow informality free rein despite their discourse that would seem to indicate the opposite.In accordance with ILO Recommendation No. 204 on the transition from the informal to the formal economy 3 (ILO, 2015), the creation and sustainability of decent enterprises and jobs should be facilitated and promoted while the informalization of jobs should be prevented wherever possible.There is undoubtedly a complex relationship between the state and the informal economy, with a direct correlation between insufficient regulation or poor regulation and an increase in informality processes.
The associations mentioned above are the extremes of a continuum, from which it is inferred that the strongest connection is established between the economic and legal dimensions, while the weakest interaction is the between labor and ethical.
On the other hand, the political dimension contains the fewest interactions with other categories.
In the next step, taking into account the sum total of each column, the domains that govern the processes of the informal economy are the economic, legal, and ethical, whereas the political, social, and labor domains do not control the evolution of this economy, or do so only residually.The proposed tetrad model effectively eliminates a large part of the dimensions necessary for the full understanding of the object of study (three of the seven) and seeks to establish such a complex phenomenology only on the basis of four dimensions that are themselves unequal in contribution and incidence.Consequently, the current state of the debate on informality runs a high risk of exclusion, disagreement and incomplete understanding.
If we apply combinatorial analysis, the grouping of seven elements by fours provides 35 possible tetrads, such as those shown in Table 5.Of these, only 10 have been shown in the study ("appearing") and excluding the remaining 25 ("not appearing").This information was collected by taking the individual contribution of each dimension or % PD j and taking the algebraic sum of the tetrad to obtain its relative importance in decreasing order.Source: compiled by the author the reality of these processes in which labor, owing to its direct relationship to informality, and the political architecture, which is key to their conceptualization and solution, have less importance than might be expected.What is more, the cultural dimension is of least significance, which also precludes one of the principal solutions to the problem, that is, the knowledge of the traditions in each community and state.With such traditions come aspects such as religion, corruption, coups d'état, endogenous political and social instability, identity, etc.It should be noted that the acceptance of employment and its conditions, including those of an informal nature, are directly related to the expression of human activities and thoughts, which gives intangible significance to a reality that is not always quantifiable.
This fact leads us to two complementary positions: on the one hand, to the induction of the current concept of informality as that which results from the most commonly used approaches within the four-fold economic-legal-political-ethical dimension; and to complement this with the definition of greater weighting (Table 7).It should be noted that, although the completeness of the study provides a clear theoretical approach, it is not unambiguous and automatically transferrable since the object of study is itself in continuous movement.This has been seen, for example, in its sudden growth in response to the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.The informal economy definitions certainly describe a phenomenon, but they fail to provide any guidance on how to manage the challenges that arise from it.The purpose of this study was to propose tools to analyze how these processes manifest in certain contexts and to establish strategies that are aligned with the general interest.Going forward, it will be necessary to combine the use of aggregate statistics and large-scale surveys with detailed research.

Conclusions
The processes of informality present real problems, but not in equal measure for all stakeholders.All societies experience them and suffer their consequences to a greater or lesser extent, although it should be remembered that the vast majority of people are immersed in them not out of choice, but rather as a means of subsistence.Criminalizing informality without providing assistance or solutions only highlights the failings of a current globalized society beset with vested interests and lacking the means of redress or misusing the available resources in developmentalist projects such as strengthening the army (together with the constant drain of buying materiel), roadbuilding, and tax exemptions for polluting vehicles.This is compounded by the establishment and defense of policies that move away from the processes of social economy in favor of protectionist legislation that force many out of the system and necessitate their involvement in the informal economy.The promulgation of the sustainable development goals is a first step in establishing decent work as the standard and not the exception.The political and social commitment they represent should be striven for, so that this battery of measures might not be corrupted by the surge of vested interests, as has happened with the processes of corporate social responsibility (full of good intentions without any enforceability beyond its positive impact on corporate dividends or the public image of management).
The categorization of informality was saturated in the seven basic areas of economic, legal, social, political, cultural, ethical, and labor dimensions.From the amalgamation of these, the meta-concept of the informal economy-not yet described in the literature-can be derived.However, not all categories contribute equally.The results show that a tetrad model is best suited to describe the sophisticated connections that exist between the different categories.Of these, the cultural dimension has been the most overlooked in academic publications, confirming its devaluation in productivist views, despite the myriad opportunities it offers; meanwhile, the legal aspect is most strongly rooted in published conceptualizations (excepting the economic dimension, which dominates for obvious reasons) in trying to eliminate informality through the exercise of the rule of law and regulatory frameworks, including the occasional promotion of institutional violence.These results are consistent with both the number of connections that are established between these categories and their individual inputs.Perhaps most surprising is the relative lack of importance attached to the social and labor dimensions, which highlights the contradiction of an academic community that represents the civilized world yet appears to be closer to the abyss than to the solution.
The project contains the following underlying data: • Table 1 and

Edisson Coba
1 Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador 2 Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador The article shows in an interesting way the different meanings of informality, and the little agreement that exists in the theory and its practical implications.
One of the observations is that in the Economic dimension the search chain: "weakening of control of regulatory bodies" would seem to deal with more legal aspects as they are control bodies.
Similarly, the search string 'promotion and conservation of ancestral traditions' should be treated as a cultural rather than a political aspect.
It should be clarified in the methodology section that the search engine used was Google Scholar from the beginning.The section on Sequencing the parameters of the informal economy, should be mentioned earlier and not later.This could avoid confusion when understanding how to select articles in indexed Latindex and Web of Science journals.
The explanations in tables 3, 4 and 5 should have a greater depth of analysis regarding the impact of the results obtained; and not only highlight the frequencies and percentages of tabulation.It would be of great value to know the author's position regarding these results and to have some discussions about it.
In Table 8 about of Definitions of the informal economy, it is very subjective to differentiate a definition that has an ethical, cultural and political dimension.Despite the description of the definitions of each dimension, it is advisable to be more precise to specify how to interpret that a definition is framed in these three dimensions.

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it engage with the current literature? Yes
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others? Yes
Are all the source data and materials underlying the results available?Yes If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?Yes

Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results? Yes
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Reviewer Expertise: Social responsability; Popular and Solidary Economy; Accounting and Finance I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.
engine used was Google Scholar from the beginning", but this point is already clarified in the methodology: "A search was carried out for definitions of the informal economy and related constructs through the existing literature using indexed databases, which in turn were part of Google Scholar ( https://scholar.google.com/)",and "The selection of the indexed academic databases to be used were: Web of Science, Scopus and Latindex with no time limit on date of publication or type of paper.Both English language and Spanish publications were included in the search between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020.102 definitions were found by this method between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020".
The definitions were searched in three databases (Web of Science, Scopus and Latindex) and once they were found it was verified that they were also indexed in Google Scholar.Consequently, we saw no need to provide further clarification.
For the compilation of Table Nº8, the dimensions and methodology were previously established and justified.This was done by drawing on high-impact articles that validate the method as well as finding justifications in the existing specific literature.Definitions as such are not interpreted but rather categorized in relation to dimensions.There is no doubt that, as the study points out, only an approximation is possible to many of the current trends in informal economy processes.These are not unambiguous results, but they will help to establish public policies and political programs tailored to an existing reality.I draw your attention to the following parts of the text: "Seven dimensions were identified through content analysis by applying a manual coding-approximation process, from which the general description and, subsequently, the scope of each dimension were obtained as outlined below.3) A frequency count in Google Scholar of all definitions was performed, measuring the impact through citations to then calculate the relative use of each dimension.It is necessary to understand that the relationship of the identified constructs is not of equal significance, the most widely used having a greater impact ( Donahue et al., 2015;Howes & Solomon, 1951;Kageura & Umino, 1996;Luque & Herrero-García, 2019;Murphy, 1992)."and "This was achieved through the following procedure: a) The basic ideas to be used in the structuring of informality processes were defined, which in turn would serve to guide the research design; b) Once all of the definitions and approximations had been read, their depth and implications were observed and noted ( Bulmer, 1979;Nosofsky, 1986); c) From there, a theoretical framework was built for each dimension, justified by their treatment in the existing academic literature: in this case, seven were required.The same systematization can be replicated for other research, adapting the number of dimensions in relation to the existing literature that justifies them; d) Each definition of informality was analyzed at a conceptual level to discover whether it contained the preconfigured implications in each one of the dimensions; if so, they were included in Table 8 for subsequent counting and analysis." The results of Tables are now better explained.
The limits are better explained.
As requested, a paragraph is included in footnote Nº2 to make reference to much of the existing legislation of the relevant supranational organizations.These are essential texts for the understanding of the progress and weaknesses in the informal economy processes.
There are guiding legal regulations of the European Union and the European Economic Community regarding the legality and necessity in the informal economy.By drawing a general framework, brief information about the sample practices and guidelines of the European Union on this subject can be added to the article.
The reasons why the political dimension in the results included the least interaction with other categories should be discussed.The author's recommendations regarding the derivation of the meta-concept of the informal economy should be explained.What could be the underlying reason why the cultural dimension was the most neglected dimension in academic publications?Also, a "discussion" section should be included in the article.In this section, the cause-effect relationships of the findings should be discussed.In particular, the discussion of the causes and consequences of the political and labor categories vectorize the processes of informality only residually should take place in this section.
The limitations of the method should be added to the article.In addition, all the limitations of the study should be included under the "Limitations" heading.More information is needed on the application areas, possible consequences, and contributions of the proposed tetrad model.On the other hand, the theoretical framework of the article and the source of inspiration for the researched phenomenon should be explained in this section after the conceptual framework.Finally, the applicable recommendations regarding the development and informality processes of the model put forward with the findings should be discussed in the context of policy development.

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it engage with the current literature?
Yes

Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound? Yes
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?Yes Are all the source data and materials underlying the results available?Yes If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?Yes

Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results? Yes
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Reviewer Expertise: Business, law, finance, social work, social policy, women studies I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.
regulatory bodies" would seem to deal with more legal aspects as they are control bodies.Similarly, the search string 'promotion and conservation of ancestral traditions' should be treated as a cultural rather than a political aspect." According to reviewer 2, "It should be clarified in the methodology section that the search engine used was Google Scholar from the beginning", but this point is already clarified in the methodology: "A search was carried out for definitions of the informal economy and related constructs through the existing literature using indexed databases, which in turn were part of Google Scholar ( https://scholar.google.com/)",and "The selection of the indexed academic databases to be used were: Web of Science, Scopus and Latindex with no time limit on date of publication or type of paper.Both English language and Spanish publications were included in the search between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020.102 definitions were found by this method between 12/09/2020 and 24/11/2020".The definitions were searched in three databases (Web of Science, Scopus and Latindex) and once they were found it was verified that they were also indexed in Google Scholar.Consequently, we saw no need to provide further clarification.
For the compilation of Table Nº8, the dimensions and methodology were previously established and justified.This was done by drawing on high-impact articles that validate the method as well as finding justifications in the existing specific literature.Definitions as such are not interpreted but rather categorized in relation to dimensions.There is no doubt that, as the study points out, only an approximation is possible to many of the current trends in informal economy processes.These are not unambiguous results, but they will help to establish public policies and political programs tailored to an existing reality.I draw your attention to the following parts of the text: "Seven dimensions were identified through content analysis by applying a manual coding-approximation process, from which the general description and, subsequently, the scope of each dimension were obtained as outlined below.3) A frequency count in Google Scholar of all definitions was performed, measuring the impact through citations to then calculate the relative use of each dimension.It is necessary to understand that the relationship of the identified constructs is not of equal significance, the most widely used having a greater impact ( Donahue et al., 2015;Howes & Solomon, 1951;Kageura & Umino, 1996;Luque & Herrero-García, 2019;Murphy, 1992)."and "This was achieved through the following procedure: a) The basic ideas to be used in the structuring of informality processes were defined, which in turn would serve to guide the research design; b) Once all of the definitions and approximations had been read, their depth and implications were observed and noted ( Bulmer, 1979;Nosofsky, 1986); c) From there, a theoretical framework was built for each dimension, justified by their treatment in the existing academic literature: in this case, seven were required.The same systematization can be replicated for other research, adapting the number of dimensions in relation to the existing literature that justifies them; d) Each definition of informality was analyzed at a conceptual level to discover whether it contained the preconfigured implications in each one of the dimensions; if so, they were included in Table 8 for subsequent counting and analysis." The results of Tables are now better explained.
The limits are better explained.
As requested, a paragraph is included in footnote Nº2 to make reference to much of the existing legislation of the relevant supranational organizations.These are essential texts for the understanding of the progress and weaknesses in the informal economy processes.
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Flowchart of the search method used in this study within inclusion criteria.Source: compiled by the author.See Luque (2021).
of the units of analysis (UAs) and percentage weighting.No. of dimensions No. of UAs % Weighting in the by the author.

Table 1 . Definition coding for each dimension with full search chain. Dimensions, coding and related search of informality processes Dimension Definition coding Search chain
Source: compiled by the author.1 27 Spanish multinationals pay a corporation tax of 0.3% of their profit worldwide, and the 134 large multinationals, with their headquarters in Spain, presented a profit of 91.894 billion USD in 2016 and paid 11.594 billion USD tax worldwide (12.6%).In addition, 36.6% of Spanish multinationals (49) obtain a net profit of 31.4%, yet contribute only 6.4% of global tax-the average effective rate being 3.1%-according to agency tax data, 2019.Retrived from Agencia Tributaria (2019)

Table 2 . Range and relative weighting of each category in Google Scholar.
Source: compiled by the author.J is the number of counts in each dimension; PD j is the relative weight of each dimension j, expressed as a %; Dj is the range of each dimension j.

Table 5 . Model of tetrads across the seven categories with total (%).
Source: compiled by the author

Table 7 . Definitions with greater weight.
Source: compiled by the author

Table 6 . Mirror values. Economic Legal Social Political Cultural Ethical Labor
The forms of subordination of labor to capital and an expression of the modes of production carried out at the level of the urban economy, similar to that previously performed in the area of the agricultural economy.Systematic effort by companies in the formal sector to evade or disassociate themselves from the legal requirements of labor protection, through the method of outsourcing that lacks formal employment benefits, in order to substantially reduce labor costs and tackle cut-throat global competition.It is made up of "intrepid" micro-entrepreneurs who choose to work informally to avoid the costs, time and effort of formal registration, and also of those who would need property rights to make their assets legally recognized.Ability to absorb self-created employment and its relationship with the modern production sector, which is the result of changes in the economy and the labor market.All of the economic units, activities and workers thus defined, as well as the results of their production, that together form, both domestically and globally, the broad base of the workforce and the economy.An ensemble of small-scale economic activities engaged in the production and distribution of goods and services with a weak capital-to-work ratio and low level of profitability and technology, and that are characterized by precariousness and vulnerability to the prevailing economic conditions in each country.numbers of poor people work.In addition to low incomes, informal work is most often characterized by poor working conditions, a lack of formal employment contracts, and very limited or no social protection.Particularly women are affected, since they form the majority of workers in this part of the economy.The informal economy refers to a series of activities that, by occurring outside the arena of the normal, regulated economy, escape official record keeping.
A set of economic activities carried out by workers and economic units which, both in law and in practice, are insufficiently covered by formal systems.The activities of these individuals and companies are not covered by legislation, which means that they operate outside the law; or they are not covered in practice, i.e. that legal regulations are not applied or not enforced; or the legislation itself causes incompliance because it is seen as inadequate, cumbersome or it imposes excessive costs.Economic activities of workers and economic units that-for legal or practical purposes-are not covered or insufficiently covered by formal agreements Economic Legal LaborLuna, 2006, pp.57-63It consists of economic activities with different levels of complexity, with workers that are mainly self-employed and trade in basic products such as food or provide basic transport services.Unregistered (or over-registered) productive activities featuring in the national accounts in the agriculture, industry, trade, mining and construction sectors.These originated in the production of small-scale goods and services such as those of the agricultural mini-trader, the street trader, etc. and are carried out outside the law.The informal economy "has served as a crucial survival strategy for the poor, as a significant provider of jobs to the unemployed, as a training ground for entrepreneurs, a source of new businesses, and as part of a cost reducing strategy for modern businesses."EconomicLegalEthicalLaborIgudiaetal., 2016, p. 3Consisting of three elements: informal employment (i.e., those doing informal types of job, regardless of the location of enterprise or operation); employment in the informal economy (i.e., those working in informal sector enterprises, regardless of the type of job done); and all legal activities that contribute to GDP but which do not figure in official statistics, for various reasons.

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