Economic restructuring, gender, and informal work: A case study of a ruralcounty

This paper combines three issues that have previously been considered separ ately: economic restructuring, gender, and participation in the informal ec onomy. Drawing on two complementary data sets of interviews with the reside nts of a rural county, the paper first suggests that the participation in t he informal economy is extensive. The second major finding is that househol ds whose members have held on to "good" work in the formal economy particip ate in the informal economy in a different way than do households whose mem bers are less fortunate. Third, the paper demonstrates that participation i n the informal economy is highly differentiated by gender. Finally the inte rsections among location in the formal economy, gender, and informal econom ic activities are discussed.