Paper short abstract:

The dichotomy drawn between in/formal economies was not a dominant government discourse in colonial Hong Kong, and policy formulation regarding in/formality is influenced by context specific political, social, and economic logics within a given temporal frame.

Paper long abstract:

The conception of the formal/informal sectors as discrete and separate entities in a local economy has since been replaced by a more nuanced discourse that emphasizes the fluid transformation and intersectionality between in/formality as a process, practice and function. This paper utilizes archival evidence and contemporary ethnographic observations collected in Hong Kong since 1983 to achieve three main objectives: (1) to show that the rigid dichotomy drawn between formal and informal economies was not a dominant discourse in policy formulation in colonial Hong Kong, (2) to critique a common tendency among researchers and students to view government agents in policy formulation and enforcement as being un/under-informed about the economic reality of intersectionality, and (3) to encourage a more insightful and open examination of the complex rationale behind policy formulation regarding in/formality in urban economies as influenced by context specific political, social, and economic logics within a given temporal frame.