The Informal Economy in Arab Nations: A Comparative Perspective

The Arab NGO Network on Development (ANND) launched the third issue of the Arab Watch on Economic and Social Rights, with a focus on the question of Informal Labor. The latest Arab Watch release addresses the question of informal labor from a rights-based perspective, which creates another challenge in monitoring these generally missing rights, in addition to the struggle to achieve them and the main role of the state in providing them. It contains two main sections. Section one covers the global and regional context, through the analysis of national reports and international data and statistics. It also contains studies on the relationship of informal labor with neoliberal policies, migration, and the gender aspect. Section two contains national reports from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.