Crisis and the Informal Economy: A Case Study of West Bengal, India

In this article, we explore how crises affect the vast, heterogeneous informal economy. We have studied folk singers, artisans, retailers, petty manufacturing units, service providers, and construction workers across different zones of West Bengal through in-depth micro-case studies that focus on the severity of their vulnerability, their contexts, and their economic conditions. We have conducted a telephone survey at different time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings clearly show that while the informal economy as a whole is highly vulnerable to external shocks, the nature and intensity of this vulnerability are far from uniform. Instead, they are shaped by the specific conditions under which different occupations operate. Vulnerability in the informal economy is structurally generated, not incidental, stemming from the interplay of significant market dependency, fragile asset bases, and insufficient institutional support, all of which are exacerbated during crises. Therefore, treating the informal sector as a homogeneous category obscures important differences and may lead to policy responses that fail to address the specific needs of different groups. Keywords: Informal economy, Petty production, Crisis, Covid-19, India. Title: Crisis and the Informal Economy: A Case Study of West Bengal, India Author: Rahul Pal, Ushosi Chatterjee International Journal of Recent Research in Commerce Economics and Management (IJRRCEM) ISSN 2349-7807 Vol. 13, Issue 2, April 2026 - June 2026 Page No: 164-172 Paper Publications Website: www.paperpublications.org Published Date: 30-May-2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20461081 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.paperpublications.org/upload/book/Crisis%20and%20the%20Informal%20Economy%20A%20Case%20Study%20of%20West%20Bengal-30052026-7.pdf