The way sociology frames the relation between formality and informality is not only complex and multifaceted, but has also evolved over time. This volume offers contributions by international authors that illustrate distinct types of theoretical framings and present various sites of inquiry. It proposes a typology comprising: the sociology of informally embedded formality, the sociology of formally embedded informality, the sociology of the interaction between formality and informality and the sociology of the emergence and transformation of formality and informality.

Contents: Adriana Mica/Jan Winczorek/Rafal Wisniewski:Sociologies of Formality and Informality - Robert Dingwall:Formality in the Interactional Study of Organizations - Grazyna Skapska/Grzegorz Bryda:Empirically Grounded Rule of Law - Liela Groenewald:Understanding Informality: Conceptual Lessons from Informal Settlement in Southern Africa - Stef Adriaenssens/Dieter Verhaest/Jef Hendrickx:Lineland and the Underground Economy: The Multidimensionality of Informal Work by Secondary Education Students - Barbara A. Misztal:Configurations of Informality and Formality in Contemporary Society - Mikko Lagerspetz:When Formal and Informal Rules Meet: The Four Sets of Rules of the Estonian Language and Minority Regime - Hans-Joachim Lauth:Rule of Law and Informal Institutions - Timothy Eccles:Identifying a Formality Hinterland: Trans-informality and Meta-formality Within UK «Better Regulation» Discourses - Aleksandra Herman:The Reconfiguration of Power as a Legitimization of Informal Political Actions in Local-Level Politics in Contemporary Poland - Francisco Linares:Social Networks, Social Norms and Workers' Resistance: A Computational Simulation Analysis.