The field of Susannah's travel-research will be in informal markets unregistered, unregulated, and non-tax-paying economies that illicitly produce and distribute products that are legal, such as street venders or craft makers in rural areas. Undoubtedly, informal markets exist in all

countries, whether advanced or developing, and provide unmet services in an economy. However, inflated informal economies are often a sign of governmental failures.

Significant numbers of laborers turning to the informal sector often implies a lack of faith in the political system and disincentives to participation in a formal economy that pays taxes to the ineffectual government. In uncertain terms, people are declaring that the government has failed its duty to justify revenue extraction by providing sufficient social services.

Despite informal market’s ability to fulfill the employment vacuum left by inadequate administration, long-term domination of unregulated markets may provide obstacles to development, e.g., by discouraging foreign direct investment.

With non-governmental organizations playing a growing and influential role in political and economic discourse all over the world, Susannah will research -- through onsite observation and interviews -- these organizations' work towards enfranchising economically marginalized populations in developing countries. Essentially, her research asks: in what ways are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to formalize informal markets in developing countries?