This chapter exemplifies how the economic sociology of labour sheds light on the pervasiveness of the informal economy and the social and political life of the increasing number of unprotected workers in this sector due to globalization. For example, the foundations of economic sociology provide what I call a "relational" understanding of the informal economy. By contrasting modernization and neoliberal notions of isolated economies with relational conceptions of the informal economy, we can see the structures, networks, and political institutions that bind informal workers to the formal sector, society, and the state. Workers who operate at the nexus of the formal and informal economies will no longer be overlooked if the relational concept is implemented in labour surveys. It also ensures the collecting data on the specific social and political contexts in which informal workers operate, such as the collective action initiatives they engage in, the significance they give to their employees, and the social networks that shape their life outcomes.

Informal employment, Social network, Economic growth,India