Presenting the informal economy in the macroeconomic accounts

The informal economy is a highly important topic for macroeconomic accounting to provide better measures of economic well-being and to account for new informal types of economic activities facilitated by digitalization. At the same time, macroeconomic accounting is required to provide a comprehensive picture of the informal economy. Importantly, macroeconomic statistics on the informal economy can go beyond measuring production. They can, for example, include an analysis of informal labour in the labour accounts and in the earned income account. The paper proposes that countries compile indicators on the contribution of the informal (market) economy to household income and to use them as headline indicators on the extent of informality in the economy alongside the contribution of informal sector production to GDP. In addition, the paper aims to contribute to an increased understanding of the macroeconomic perspective on the framework for the informal economy among labour statisticians and national accountants by clarifying terminology used in the SNA and the 21st ICLS resolution concerning statistics on the informal economy.