Den uformelle eller ”sorte” økonomi er slet ikke så skadelig eller for den sags skyld usolidarisk, som staten påstår; tilmed er økonomiens omfang større end antaget. Det fremgår af en rapport, der er omtalt i FastCompany; som angår forholdene i UK, skal det siges. I stedet for at behandle den uformelle økonomi som var den et problem, mener rapportens forfattere, at staten bør anerkende dens funktion, som et legitimt nederste trin på den trappe, driftige mennesker bestiger, før virksomheden besidder en kapital, der er tilpas til, at det kan betale sig at blive registreret i de offentlige skatte- og selskabsretlige systemer.

We polled 600 small business owners and asked them about their experience with and attitude toward the informal economy. What we found is that when people first launch a business, they often engage in informal work. One in five respondents had engaged in informal work at one point. One of the most popular reasons was because it gave entrepreneurs breathing space before they had the capacity to register. Only 9% said they took informal work to earn extra income. It’s not about greed–it’s a stepping stone, really, towards fully fledged entrepreneurship. The informal economy is possibly an incubation space for the growth of fuller enterprises.

Rapporten kan hentes på hjemmesiden for Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.