Gold, the State and Market Actors: Legal vs. Illegal Practices of Interaction

This article focuses on an examination of the role of the state in the development of the informal economy. Using material from unstructured interviews, the authors analyse reasons for choosing illegal strategies to overcome formal barriers to entry into the gold-mining sector. They conclude that it is not so much the height of administrative barriers as the configuration of power relations which develops when the state treats some businesses favourably compared to others that comprises the fundamental reason for the development of informal economic practices.