Recognizing, Supporting and Embracing the Urban Informal Economy in Ghana: A Local Economic Development Perspective

The informal economy has become a vibrant and growing phenomenon across the world. Within the context of sustainable development, connecting local economic development (LED) to the informal economy is imperative. However, the informal economy remains largely neglected within the conventional LED literature. Using key informant interviews and focus group discussions, this paper found that recognizing, embracing and supporting informal economy contributes to a more inclusive form of LED. The study concluded that local government authorities need to be more innovative in recognising the informal economy as part of local governments’ strategies for addressing unemployment, and supporting livelihoods.