Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy

Thousands of Africans head to China each year to buy cell phones, auto parts, and other products that they will import to their home countries through a clandestine global back channel.



Hundreds of Paraguayan merchants smuggle computers, electronics, and clothing across the border to Brazil.



Scores of laid-off San Franciscans, working without any licenses, use Twitter to sell home-cooked foods.



Dozens of major multinationals sell products through unregistered kiosks and street vendors around...