This book analyses the dynamics of the informal economy in West Africa. It analyses issues relating to its scale, its dualism (dynamic and evolving economy/static and survival economy) and the dilemma concerning its prospects for development (what type of formalisation?). While the subject matter of this book falls within the fields of economics and politics, it is also rooted in the field of management science, in that it adopts an approach centred on economic actors. The epistemological approach applied is plural in nature insofar as it uses the three main paradigms in the field, namely the positivist, interpretativist and constructivist paradigms. From a methodological point of view, the research approach is based on facts established by observation (state of the art on the informal economy), as well as on 'field research'. The book also sought to demonstrate that the informal economy is far from homogenous.