The Nigerian informal economy: a regional analysis

In recent years, particularly post 1990 and contrary to the expectation and predictions of many economists, there is ample evidence that the informal economy has expanded globally (Schneider et al., 2010). This, in addition to finding out the potential of the informal economy, has sparked renewed interest amongst researchers. Until now, however, most of the ‘empirical’ studies have concentrated on the Asian and Latin American countries (Debrah 2007), and most methodological approaches for studying the concept have remained debatable (Aryeetey, 2010). This thesis seeks to close a gap in the literature by developing two novel research frameworks: the Individual, Firm and State (IFS), and Four Circles (4Cs) to explain the link between theories and methods, as well as the impacts and benefits, of the informal economy. The study also utilises secondary and collected-primary data, modified-MIMIC and Currency approaches, to explore the determinants, characteristics, and regional prevalence of the Nigerian informal economy, as well as the relationships between the Nigerian informal economy and key macroeconomic variables/business enterprises