Informal Level Research Articles

Verifying an Effect-Handler-Based Define-By-Run Reverse-Mode AD Library

We apply program verification technology to the problem of specifying and verifying automatic differentiation (AD) algorithms. We focus on define-by-run, a style of AD where the program that must be differentiated is executed and monitored by the automatic differentiation algorithm. We begin by asking, "what is an implementation of AD?" and "what does it mean for an implementation of AD to be correct?" We answer these questions both at an informal level, in precise English prose, and at a formal level, using types and logical assertions. After answering these broad questions, we focus on a specific implementation of AD, which involves a number of subtle programming-language features, including dynamically allocated mutable state, first-class functions, and effect handlers. We present a machine-checked proof, expressed in a modern variant of Separation Logic, of its correctness. We view this result as an advanced exercise in program verification, with potential future applications to the verification of more realistic automatic differentiation systems and of other software components that exploit delimited-control effects.

Rethinking Development in Latin America

ABSTRACT Latin American countries face a crossroad that demands profound change in their development paradigm. In the last four decades economic growth, investment, and productivity have shown poor performance. This has made it impossible to break with the productive heterogeneity that characterises the region and its dependence on low value-added productive sectors and commodity-dependent export structures. Although there has been a positive advance in human development, high levels of inequality, poverty, social exclusion, and high labour market informality have been persistent in the countries of the region. Added to these structural problems is the need to face climate change, that has important distributive and social effects and requires a significant amount of investment in adaption and mitigation a will require a change in the development paradigm. A fiscal sustainability framework will be essential to ensure the viability of the public spending required to promote structural change. The framework should prioritise domestic resource mobilisation, through public revenues, which have historically been insufficient to meet the demands for public spending.

Patterns of social behavior among informal workers during extreme events: lessons from social life during the Covid-19 pandemic in Lima, Peru.

This study analyzes changes in social life during the pandemic and the early stages of the post-pandemic period within a population characterized by high levels of informality in Lima, particularly the textile district of Gamarra, encompassing 89,123 people. A qualitative approach was adopted, based on 62 semi-structured interviews with garment manufacturers, in-store traders, and street vendors. Two distinct moments could be identified: a) experiences confronting the shock induced by the Covid-19 pandemic; and b) experiences of reconfiguring work and daily life, alongside strategies adopted by the population. In conclusion, the study suggests that some elements of daily life acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic may carry over into the future, inducing society to place greater emphasis on preventive measures against emerging risks, including behaviors related to hygiene and health, fostering closer family ties, increased utilization of digitalization and hybrid work models, and the cultivation of enhanced social capital.

La Ruta Perdida del Oro Peruano y sus implicancias en la Seguridad Nacional

In Peru, the mining sector has managed to improve the country's economy and society, contributing up to 10% of PIB and the main minerals are copper, zinc and gold, whose national exports represented more than 60% in 2019, being the gold the second most important mining product. The mining legal regulations that began in 1992, backed by the Peruvian Constitution, have managed to give the necessary impetus to turn this sector into the engine of the nationaleconomy; however, gold production in remote areas ofthe country still have governance problems that create opportunities for organized crime and illegal mining activity, facilitated by factors such as institutional weakness, corruption, poverty, an economy based on money in cash and high levels of informality that affect national security. Peru has complex and substantial challenges in the fight against the illegal gold tradeand despite the time that has elapsed, it requires priority and effective attention, which benefits the inhabitants of those remote areas of the country.

Are livelihoods of slum dwellers sustainable and secure in developing economies? Evidences from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in India

ObjectivesWe adopted the Sustainable Livelihood Security (SLS) approach to assess the living conditions of slum dwellers in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Keeping the urban poor at the centre, we attempted to bring out the multidimensional nature of poverty and explored various aspects of the livelihood of slum dwellers. MethodsWe surveyed 900 households from both notified and non-notified slums of Lucknow city to construct the SLS index, keeping the social, economic, infrastructural, health, and micro-environmental aspects of slum dwellers in the background. We collected data based on the household approach of the UN and the neighbourhood approach of the Government of India and aggregated the weighted index values under various sub-components to construct a composite index. ResultsThe results suggested that the index values were low for both types of slum dwellers in Lucknow city specifically in the economic, infrastructural, and micro-environmental aspects. The results also showed that ‘non-notified slum dwellers’ were much more deficient in all the dimensions compared to their ‘notified’ counterparts. The livelihood condition of the marginalized households (backward castes and minorities) was especially precarious and vulnerable. ConclusionThe findings reveal the existence of a high level of informality of livelihood of the urban poor in terms of housing, employment, health, and other basic amenities, and demonstrate that their livelihood condition is characterized by a low assets base, and poor strategies to overcome exigencies and risks. RecommendationsThis paper recommends enactment of an urban employment guarantee act, conducting of sabhas (meetings) at the ward level on a regular basis to promote awareness, and notification of non-notified slums to notified slums on regular basis for the overall development of slum dwellers.

Describing factors that influence Chondracanthus chamissoi (Rhodophyta) fishery in northern Peru under the DPSIR conceptual framework: Implications for the design of integral management strategies

Chondracanthus chamissoi is a red macroalgae that sustains one of the most important benthic coastal fisheries in Peru. This zone is characterized by high environmental variability, regulated by seasonal rainfall and ENSO events. The combination of anthropogenic and natural factors strongly influences the sustainability of this fishery. To understand the current state of this resource, which is subject to great extractive pressure and with scarce information about its population dynamics, sustainability indicators that connect the eco-social system of this fishery were selected. This study analyses, for the first time, the most significant factors that determine the population, social, economic, and environmental dynamics of this fishery resource under the DPSIR conceptual framework. The findings showed that the fishery of this macroalgae is currently subsistence fishing. The dynamics of the fishery are driven by internal demand and a marked environmental variability (driving forces). This generates great uncertainty in the fishing effort that faces a strong natural variability of the physical habitat (pressure), which directly impacts on the biomass of the macroalgae (state), with values between 0.05 kg/m2 and 0.83 kg/m2. These variations are reflected in losses of economic income, which exceed 1900 USD/year, and levels of informality which are higher than 50%, which can lead to social conflicts between fishermen (impact). Fisheries governance was found to be feeble (upstream and downstream response), characterized by limited management measures in driving forces, state and impact categories, and with no response in regulating fishing effort pressures. To achieve the transition from informality to the establishment of management plans for C. chamissoi, it is necessary to work together with authorities, specialists, fishers, and stakeholders. It is also necessary to increase the frequency of stock and community assessments, complemented with evaluations of the impact of sedimentation processes (erosion/accretion).

Institutional Design of Pension Systems Versus Labor Market Structure: What Matters Most?

Abstract Since the 1980s, policy makers have favored Defined Contribution (DC) pension systems as the alternative to address the unsustainability of Defined Benefit systems. While DC schemes offer benefits and economic advantages, they also present challenges and limitations. We evaluate the mandatory DC pension system for workers in the private formal sector in Mexico, introduced in 1997. We intend to determine for which workers the design of the system is effective and for which workers it is not. The Mexican labor market has high levels of informality and workers constantly flow in and out of the formal sector. Our findings support the view that workers’ personal characteristics place them in the structure of the labor market that in turn determines pension benefits. We analyze involvement with the formal sector and the pension system and identify 3 groups of pension participants that reflect the structure of the local labor market: occasional workers, frequent interruptions, and workers with high participation rates. We conclude that frictions in the labor market prevail over the good intentions of the pension design, like reducing informality and encouraging saving for retirement. Our results show that the system properly serves only 36% of affiliated workers. We explain why very few workers report behaviors consistent with high participation, and why most affiliates have insufficient participation to receive pension benefits. We shed light on the relationship between the structure of the labor market and the design of the pension system and their impact on workers’ future pension benefits.

Il calcio: educazione e rappresentazione

The concept of “deep play” by Clifford Geertz, in our society can be referred to football. The pervasiveness of this game and its language, its multiple playful forms and the fact that it is the most practiced game at both a formal and informal level since childhood, and most represented, create the pedagogical conditions for the education of a collective identity of which football is the “background”.

ده‌نگدانه‌وه‌ی كۆڕه‌وی (1991)ی باشووری كوردستان له‌ ئاستى ناوه‌نده‌ فه‌رمی و نافه‌رمییه‌كانی ده‌ره‌وه‌دا

Reaction of the 1991 exodus at the level of official and informal institutes in outside the Iraqi Kurdistan Region ، this study presents the reactions to the 1991 uprising in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region at the formal and informal levels. The reactions of the Kurdish Diaspora abroad and the Arab countries, as well as the reflection of the mass exodus on the international media and international decisions has been demonstrated. Such a study highlights the importance of the event that is related to the fate of the legitimate cause of the Kurdish nation in contemporary history. The most important source mentioned in this study is the analysis of witnesses, politicians, intellectuals and academic figures who were involved in the events. We believe that this is the first study with a scientific significance that focuses on the rumors of the exodus event at various official and informal levels abroad.

Financial Inclusion and Poverty Reduction: An Analysis of Panel Data 2010-2019

The purpose of this research paper is to determine the contribution of financial inclusion on the reduction of poverty. Peru was used as a case study to analyze the policy process in reduction of poverty through financial inclusion using data for the period of 2010-2019. The general research hypothesis is that financial inclusion can contribute to the reduction of poverty. Panel data model was specified whose estimation was made through the fixed effects estimator.Within the specified econometric model, the dependent variable was the poverty rate, while the explanatory variable of interest, in this case, financial inclusion, was measured through a multidimensional index of financial inclusion. Additionally, a set of control variables was incorporated: economic growth, income inequality, labor informality rate, and average number of years of education achieved.The results of the research demonstrate evidence in favor of the general research hypothesis, confirming that financial inclusion presents a statistically significant contribution of 1% on the reduction of poverty in Peru during the period 2010-2019. Likewise, regarding the control variables, it is identified that the increase in the levels of economic growth and average years of education are also relevant for the reduction of poverty. Additionally, it is corroborated that the reduction of the levels of income inequality and labor informality lead to an improvement in reduction of the poverty rates.

ده‌نگدانه‌وه‌ی كۆڕه‌وی (1991)ی باشووری كوردستان له‌ ئاستى ناوه‌نده‌ فه‌رمی و نافه‌رمییه‌كانی ده‌ره‌وه‌دا

Reaction of the 1991 exodus at the level of official and informal institutes in outside the Iraqi Kurdistan Region ، this study presents the reactions to the 1991 uprising in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region at the formal and informal levels. The reactions of the Kurdish Diaspora abroad and the Arab countries, as well as the reflection of the mass exodus on the international media and international decisions has been demonstrated. Such a study highlights the importance of the event that is related to the fate of the legitimate cause of the Kurdish nation in contemporary history. The most important source mentioned in this study is the analysis of witnesses, politicians, intellectuals and academic figures who were involved in the events. We believe that this is the first study with a scientific significance that focuses on the rumors of the exodus event at various official and informal levels abroad.

Extensive evaluation of transformer-based architectures for adverse drug events extraction

Adverse Drug Event (ADE) extraction is one of the core tasks in digital pharmacovigilance, especially when applied to informal texts. This task has been addressed by the Natural Language Processing community using large pre-trained language models, such as BERT. Despite the great number of Transformer-based architectures used in the literature, it is unclear which of them has better performances and why. Therefore, in this paper we perform an extensive evaluation and analysis of 19 Transformer-based models for ADE extraction on informal texts. We compare the performance of all the considered models on two datasets with increasing levels of informality (forums posts and tweets). We also combine the purely Transformer-based models with two commonly-used additional processing layers (CRF and LSTM), and analyze their effect on the models performance. Furthermore, we use a well-established feature importance technique (SHAP) to correlate the performance of the models with a set of features that describe them: model category (AutoEncoding, AutoRegressive, Text-to-Text), pre-training domain, training from scratch, and model size in number of parameters. At the end of our analyses, we identify a list of take-home messages that can be derived from the experimental data.

Informal Board Hierarchy and High-Quality Corporate Development: Evidence from China

Promoting and realizing high-quality economic development is a major development strategy in China, but realizing high-quality macroeconomic development must be implemented at the micro-enterprise level. This paper takes Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2020 as a sample. By collecting data from CSMAR (China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database), CSMAR (China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database), and CNRDS (Chinese Research Data Services) and using a fixed-effects model, this paper investigates the impact of informal board level on the high-quality development of enterprises. The results of the study show that the informal board hierarchy contributes to the high-quality development of firms and is stronger in non-SOEs and firms with lower quality of internal control; the mechanism study shows that the informal hierarchy can contribute to the high-quality development of firms by reducing agency costs and improving business performance. In addition, higher levels of environmental uncertainty and board interaction can weaken the role of the informal hierarchy in promoting high-quality corporate development. Based on the perspective of the informal system, this paper innovatively explores how the informal level of the board of directors can overcome the shortcomings and risks of the “people” in the formal system. It is of practical significance to optimize the corporate governance structure and improve the corporate governance system and promote the high-quality development of enterprises.

Determinants of the level of informality amongst female street food vendors in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from two regions in Ghana

This paper relied on data from the food service industry in Ghana to measure the extent of informality as well as to determine the motivations and challenges that influence selection into informal entrepreneurship. Because of the need to guarantee food safety and hygiene and protect the consuming public, enterprises in the food service industry are required to undergo some practices and procedures that limit the conventional measures of informality in describing them correctly. By varying this conventional definition, we showed that informality can more appropriately be measured in the food service industry. Using data from 406 female street food vendors in Ghana's Greater Accra and Central regions, we show that approximately 62 % of enterprises in the food service industry tend to be wholly informal. We again found that higher levels of informalization tend to be associated with survivalist and opportunist motivations as well as some economic and spatial challenges, and this is similar to characteristics of informal firms measured using the well-known conventional definitions. One practical implication of our finding is that a sector-specific definition may be appropriate when measuring informality in the food service industry. Our findings show that by varying this definition, many of the known characteristics of informalization can still be realized.

“Stay at home (if you can)”: informal employment and COVID-19 in Mexico

This paper explores the relationship between residential confinement to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, seen as a public policy, and how it affects the informal labor sector, as well as the responseof individuals to the pandemic in the states of Mexico. Forming panels for various levels of informality applied to panel vector auto-regressive (PVAR) shows that staying at home as public policy becomes more effective as informality decreases. In addition, the response of individuals to an increase in the spread of the pande-mic depends on the level of informality: for states with lower rates of informality, individuals respond to a higher concentration of residential confinement. But for states with a higher level of informality, the evidence is not significant. The paper considers the role of informality in the development of an effective public policy.

Firm informality during the COVID-19 crisis in Argentina: perception of commercial entrepreneurs and public accountants

This article analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the informality of Argentinian micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises based on the perception of commercial entrepreneurs and public accountants from Bahía Blanca (Argentina). Using primary data collected through semi-structured interviews, a qualitative content analysis was performed combining theory-oriented and data-based coding. Despite the widespread use of electronic payments, the findings suggest an increase in income underreporting and the number of unregistered companies, thus supporting the countercyclical behavior of the informal sector during that crisis. The article contributes to a better understanding of informality through a microeconomic-qualitative approach by integrating the perspective of two different actors. Empirical findings are relevant for policymakers seeking to reduce the levels of informality during periods of crisis.

EXAMINING THE DETERMINANTS OF THE LEVEL OF INFORMALIZATION OF MICRO-ENTERPRISES IN A DEVELOPMENTAL URBAN CONTEXT

This study aims to identify the key determinants of the level of informalization of micro-enterprises in Nigeria. We seek to understand the motives of entrepreneurs doing business in different segments of the informal sector and to clarify further the relationship between formal and informal economic activity. To fill the research gap, we developed a theoretical framework that focuses on a decision matrix regarding the level of informality. The quantitative approach involved a sample of 120 entrepreneurs operating in the Nigerian informal economy. Our results show that institutional constraints significantly affect the decision to engage in the informal sector. The institutional constraint is related to ambiguity in tax assessment and business registration policies and procedures, including the mismanagement of those in power. We conclude that the presence of informal firms is not always as harmful as it sometimes is considered to be.

Defeat and Glory: Social Media, Neoliberalism and the Transnational Tragedy of a Divinized Baba

This essay addresses the intersection between the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik-Tok and Pinterest social media platforms and a contemporary religious leader/teacher who exploited them to rise from subalternity to the status of a deified celebrity. It examines his underprivileged disciples and followers and rival formal and informal levels, within Indian Sufi circles. Employing a combined perspective of ethnography, media studies and textual analysis, I discuss the transformations engendered by this social media celebrity and the impact of neo-liberalism on religious teacher–disciple (peeri–mureedi) relations. I show that this transformation involved a commodification of peeri–mureedi relations, leading to a neoliberal morphing of religious practices into marketable products. In so doing, I provide a critical reading of Mazzarella’s social media as “re-enlightened” or “inclusive capitalism” that gives voice, agency and new economic possibilities to capitalism’s most marginal subjects, who aspire to break the grip of what I term the “economies of despair”.

Urbanization and productivity at a global level: new empirical evidence for the services sector

AbstractStudies in developed countries show a positive relationship between urbanization and productivity; however, this is often not the case for developing countries. This is due to the absence of conditions permitting the expression of agglomeration economies, such as the lack of complementarity between city size and individuals' education, and high levels of informality. Given the increasing importance of services in terms of employment and production, this article analyzes the relationship between the rapid urbanization and tertiarization of developing countries and the productivity of the services sector. Fixed effects and dynamic panel models are estimated using data for a sample of 91 countries between 1990 and 2018. The results indicate that urbanization increases the productivity of services in developed countries but has the opposite effect in developing countries. This evidence supports the recent literature on urbanization without growth in developing countries for the case of the services sector.

معوقات تمكين المرأة بالمملكة العربية السعودية

There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been long overdue towards empowering Saudi women from their political rights, and this is due to the culture of society, which has had a negative impact towards delaying women's enjoyment of their political rights. It is worth noting that Saudi women began to participate in political and public life in general at the official and informal level through their membership in the Shura Council. On September 25, 2011, the King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announced the approval of the participation of women in the membership of the Shura Council and municipal councils as a candidate and a vote. As a minimum, 20% of the Shura Council seats are reserved for women. The Kingdom's regulations do not include provisions that prevent women from occupying any of the higher positions, which confirms that there are no legal obstacles towards empowering women, and perhaps the recent amendment of legislation has had an impact in changing the culture of society towards empowering women. The study analyzes the legal impediments to women's exercise of their political rights, as the researcher relied on the descriptive approach that is based on the study of legal texts and internal regulations that dealt with women's political rights at the domestic level, reaching a result that seeks to challenge the most important obstacles to empowering women with all the political rights imposed on them by legislation and regulations Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is worth noting that the Kingdom's Vision 2030 affirms the political empowerment of the many rights it carried to women and the protection that affirms respect and codification of women's political rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first chapter reviews the political rights established for Saudi women in accordance with the legislation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the second chapter deals with the reality of Saudi women exercising their political rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and deals with obstacles to Saudi women empowering their political rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.