Abstract
It was in the early 1970s that economists formed the concept of an informal economy for the countries of Tiers-World. However, the epistemological debate tends to blur in the 1990s. This leads to a growing mismatch between empirical studies and the theoretical base. Today, the diversity and heterogeneity of content covered by the concept of the informal economy is such that this semantic category can no longer function as a concept. However, both in the major cities of Tiers-World and in rural areas, experiments with the creation of income-generating economic activities are carried out by people in a spirit of solidarity without being notified to the authorities. A new concept of a solidarity-based people’s economy means being forged. Can it be applied in the context of northern countries?