Currently the Nepali government and the International Labour Organization
(ILO) are involved in a campaign to increase rates of government registration
among small businesses, which are technically illegal to operate unregistered.
The program incentivizes and facilitates registration, attempting to change the
cost-benefit analysis that shopkeepers make when deciding whether to register.
Using interviews with small business owners in the Kathmandu area, this study
provides qualitative data about what information these shopkeepers have, how
they perceive the registration process, whether the government has traditionally
followed through on its promises, and how all of these factors affect their
registration cost-benefit analyses. Additionally, this study examines the
perceptions, priorities, and methods of NGOs and government officials involved
in directing initiatives which affect the informal economy. From the shopkeeper
side we find that a confusing registration process as well as distrust in the
government are the primary barriers to registration. From the government and
NGO side we find that lack of information sharing and collaboration between
various government ministries as well as between NGOs and the government are
harmful to registration efforts.