The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2003

ferring titles should be relatively simple. It will also be crucial to simplify the labyrinthine requirements for obtaining deeds, titles and licenses and complying with the regulations governing business activity, to make compliance easier and less costly, particularly for those who can least afford to do so. A Revolution from Below Existing businesses will be sure to object to any steps that make life eas- ier for street vendors, contending that they already underprice them thanks to lower operating expenses (for example, their electricity is often stolen from power lines) and boot- legged goods. This concern is cer- tainly understandable, but given the huge disparity in scale of economic activity and the strong constituency for keeping established businesses going, such small owners are not likely to have a major impact. But even if they did, some special con- sideration by the government to legitimate retail shop owners would level the playing field. Similarly, there will be political and social conflict because all those who currently profit from the sys- tem will suddenly be denied their ill-gotten gains. In particular, the J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 67 Whether classified as the “parallel economy,” the “informal sector,” or “micro-business,” the working poor’s output is substantial.