The nature and role of the so-called "informal sector" are re-examined, on the basis of a detailed country study, using different data sources relating to Kenya which have recently been published or become available. Specific Kenyan phenomena are identified and commented upon, particularly the importance of "divided households" obtaining their living in both agriculture and the urban informal sector, and the tendency of informal sector manufacturing enterprises to form "agglomerations." The informal sector is seen as a heterogeneous set of activities, urban or rural, which have the common features of catering (not uniquely) to the mass of low-income consumers, existing competitively due to the low supply price of labor, and being capable of retaining an important role in economies with widely varying levels of development so long as this supply price remains low. © 1991.
