Pop!Tech Redux: Formal/Informal/Deviant – Economic Shifts on a Global Scale
When you consider the global economy, certain obvious players come to mind – but what about the increasingly significant economy that exists off the books?
As Rob Neuwirth outlined in his Pop!Tech talk: Free Markets vs. Flea Markets, this Informal Economy or Shadow Economy or System D economy comprises $10T in annual global GDP and employs 1.8B people worldwide – about half the workforce on the planet. In aggregate, this quasi-legal system represents the 2nd largest economy in the world (behind the United States), and with current growth levels, is expected to eclipse the #1 spot in less than 10 years. By 2020 it has been forecasted that 2/3 of the global workforce will be doing business in this domain.
A prime example of this trend, according to Neuwirth, is the Gala Sausage Roll – a ubiquitous Nigerian snack food produced by UAC Foods (one of Nigeria’s oldest food service companies), which is exclusively sold via street hawkers.
And that’s just the quasi-legal domain.
As Nils Gilman discussed in his Pop!Tech talk about Deviant Globalization, conversations around the informal economy do not take into account the less-than-quasi-legal domain – let’s say the more illicit economy, the Black Market or the Underground Economy – the global organ harvesting, money laundering, illegal immigration, wildlife hunting, product hawking, computer hacking, drug and sex trade industries – to name a few. These ‘Deviant Industries’ range in size from $5-10B (deviant mining) to $1-3T (deviant finance) but all share a common structural element: the ability to tap into mainstream infrastructure tools created to accommodate non-deviant trade and globalization – shipping, aviation, telecommunications and banking networks.
While I’m certainly not suggesting we combine forces of our clients with the likes of international drug cartels, there are definitely some interesting bits to consider here in terms of what we do, especially in relation to retail:
How can we think more about building brands from the bottom up versus the top down?
How can we better leverage the idea that limited access tends to create increased desirability?
How can we work to make a positive impact while staying resilient in this changing environment?
Marissa Vosper is a Senior Strategist at WONY.
