The HW Arndt Lecture honours Professor Heinz Arndt's long and distinguished career in development economics and Asia-Pacific regional studies.
Informality: why it persists, what can be done about it?
Informality is a persistent feature of labour markets in developing countries. In this lecture, Professor Kunal Sen examines the causes of persistent informality and possible solutions. He will first discuss the ambiguity that exists on conceptualising and measuring informality. He then describes the patterns in informality across developing countries and examines the causes of informality. Finally, he will discuss ways to reduce informality, noting the lack of credible evidence on which policies are effective, as well as the lack of agreement in the policy community on how to address informality.
Event Speakers
Professor Kunal Sen
Professor Kunal Sen has over three decades of experience in academic and applied development economics research. From January 2019 to April 2026, he has served as Director of UNU-WIDER. He is currently at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, where he is a professor of development economics.
Yixiao Zhou
Yixiao Zhou is Associate Professor in Economics at the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics and Director of China Economy Program, Crawford School of Public Policy. Yixiao’s research work focuses on three areas: global macroeconomics, the role of technology and innovation in economic growth, and the Chinese economy.