India's informal capitalism and its regulation

The paper introduces the section of the International Review of Sociology devoted to the analysis of the nature and working of India’s informal economy. The project emerges from a large literature on informality in contemporary capitalism, focusing on the role played by state and non-state regulation in the informalisation of the economy. Since the informal economy is a larger part of GDP than the registered economy, the project examines its relation to the formal economy. It therefore contributes to the understanding of the type of capitalism prevailing in India in the present phase of globalisation.