Informal Sector Research Articles

Exploring the potential for enhancing green skills training, innovation and sustainable livelihoods in informal spaces of Harare, Zimbabwe: identifying gaps and opportunities

PurposeDespite growing emphasis on green skills, innovation, and sustainable livelihoods, research remains limited in the informal economy, particularly in developing countries. This study investigates gaps in green skills training, innovations and livelihoods among informal metal fabricators, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities within this sector. Specifically, the study critically assesses the potential for upskilling informal metal fabricators through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and university innovation hubs.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a qualitative interpretive methodology, we conducted 40 key informant interviews with small-scale informal metal fabricators operating in Magaba and Gaza home industries, two of Harare’s largest home industries in Zimbabwe. Subsequent key informant interviews were held with TVET educators and innovation hub lecturers. Observations were carried out over a period of three months to comprehensively explore the issues under investigation.FindingsGender disparities persist within informal innovation spaces, with women making strides in the traditionally male-dominated field of metal fabrication. However, challenges such as prejudices, stigma, ridicule and abuse hinder women’s full participation in manufacturing processes, often relegating them to less physically demanding roles like customer engagement and product marketing. Inequities in support for green skills training were evident, with the innovation hub model primarily catering to formally educated youth in universities, neglecting the active involvement of notable informal innovators with limited formal education. While a gradual shift toward renewable energy sources is observable in the informal economy, government-owned TVET institutions show minimal or no adjustments in course content to incorporate essential green skills. In light of the findings, the study proposes measures to ensure equitable green skills training, innovation and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods in the informal metal fabrication sector.Originality/valueThe findings of this study represent a novel contribution the gaps in green skills training in the informal economy and how these inform reforms for vocational learning and training practices and the incubation of innovations.

Beyond the formal economy. Social cooperatives for labour integration under the pressure of market competitiveness

Purpose Using the theoretical framework of the substantive economy, this study aims to point out the main aspects of the substantive mode of operation that help the integration of disadvantaged people while at the same time shedding light on the barriers that hinder economically efficient functioning in a market economy. Design/methodology/approach Research focuses on Hungarian rural work integration social cooperatives, which are engaged in producing activity by the employment of disadvantaged people. In the research, mixed methods were applied: results of a questionnaire survey covering 102 cooperatives, as well as 20 semi-structured interviews and experiences from the field. A total of 17 indicators were used to explore the substantive operational features, promoting mechanisms and problems in the following areas: organisational goals and outcomes; integrating roles and functions; productive functions; and the embeddedness of cooperatives. Findings As for results, substantive operational mechanisms and tools that support the integration of disadvantaged people have been identified such as mentoring, social incentives, the ability to create local value or the expansion of local community services. At the same time, several barriers have been detected that make it difficult to operate economically, such as cooperatives being a stepping stone for workers, excessive product heterogeneity or the lack of vertically structured bridging relationships. Originality/value The value of the study is to counterpoint the mechanisms promoting social purposes of work-integration social cooperatives and the obstacles to their long-term sustainability within the framework of the substantive economy, to better understand their functioning and the less quantifiable factors of their performance.

Inspiration and Innovation of Informal Economic Governance under Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: Reconstruction of Street Vendor Governance Model in Fuyang City

Vallholder economy is an important driving force for urban economic and social development in the new era. Under the background of socialism with Chinese characteristics, through comparative research, empirical research, investigation and analysis, this paper concluded that the street vendor economy is informal, long-term and complex. For the governance of Chinese street vendors, we should learn from the theory, absorb foreign experience based on the national conditions and urban status, and find the breakthrough of governance from the root. Formulate “flexible” flexible policies, optimize space politics, divide and rule, break through the constraints of regularization, reconstruct and innovate the economic governance model of Chinese street vendors, and realize the “Sinicization of governance concept, local governance policy and contemporary governance model”. The research has enlightenment and reference significance for enriching the development of political economy theory, innovating the informal economic governance model and developing the informal economy in the new era.

How do we understand the value of drug checking as a component of harm reduction services? A qualitative exploration of client and provider perspectives

BackgroundMortality related to opioid overdose in the U.S. has risen sharply in the past decade. In California, opioid overdose death rates more than tripled from 2018 to 2021, and deaths from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl increased more than seven times in those three years alone. Heightened attention to this crisis has attracted funding and programming opportunities for prevention and harm reduction interventions. Drug checking services offer people who use drugs the opportunity to test the chemical content of their own supply, but are not widely used in North America. We report on qualitative data from providers and clients of harm reduction and drug checking services, to explore how these services are used, experienced, and considered.MethodsWe conducted in-depth semi-structured key informant interviews across two samples of drug checking stakeholders: “clients” (individuals who use drugs and receive harm reduction services) and “providers” (subject matter experts and those providing clinical and harm reduction services to people who use drugs). Provider interviews were conducted via Zoom from June-November, 2022. Client interviews were conducted in person in San Francisco over a one-week period in November 2022. Data were analyzed following the tenets of thematic analysis.ResultsWe found that the value of drug checking includes but extends well beyond overdose prevention. Participants discussed ways that drug checking can fill a regulatory vacuum, serve as a tool of informal market regulation at the community level, and empower public health surveillance systems and clinical response. We present our findings within three key themes: (1) the role of drug checking in overdose prevention; (2) benefits to the overall agency, health, and wellbeing of people who use drugs; and (3) impacts of drug checking services at the community and systems levels.ConclusionThis study contributes to growing evidence of the effectiveness of drug checking services in mitigating risks associated with substance use, including overdose, through enabling people who use and sell drugs to test their own supply. It further contributes to discussions around the utility of drug checking and harm reduction, in order to inform legislation and funding allocation.

The Impact of the Street-Stall Economy on the Quality of Employment in the Informal Economy

As a form of informal economy, the street-stall economy has a positive role in providing employment opportunities, but at the same time, there are problems such as low quality of employment and insufficient social security. Therefore, the question explored in this paper is whether the quality of informal economy employment generated by the ground stall economy is an effective job and whether it can be a way for low-income groups to earn a living. In this paper, the composition and proportion of the intangible costs of the stall economy and the average monthly income of the urban low-income group are analyzed to determine whether the informal jobs created by the stall economy can meet the basic needs of the urban low-income group. Taking the average per capital income of the low-income group as the standard, if the stall economy can steadily bring more than the standard net income to the low-income group, it means that the informal jobs created by the stall economy are effective jobs. The study shows that nearly 30% of the vendors in the statistics of the monthly net income of the street-stall economy are unable to reach the average income of the low-income group in the city, indicating that the informal economy jobs created by the street-stall economy are of low quality and are not enough to satisfy the basic living needs of the lowest-income group and that the proportion of effective jobs is low.

Perceived constraints in agro-processing in unorganized agri-businesses: Learning from Trans-Gangetic Plains

Agro-processing within the production catchment has the potential to enhance farmers’ income, reducing post- harvest losses, and generating rural employment in India. A study was carried out during 2019–22 to identify the constraints impacting performance of agro-processing units being run by the unorganized sector in Trans-Gangetic Plains. A total of 60 current and 60 potential agro-processing farmers were undertaken using simple random technique to carry out the study. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in collecting data. Data were analyzed using Friedman's, Nemenyi's and Kruskal-Wallis's tests. Study highlighted the issues that current agro- processors encounter, various constraits including high interest rates, inadequate storage, few marketing avenues, slow information access, and expensive equipment maintenance. Further, the challenges faced by aspiring agro-processors were information deficits, marketing and high operating expenses. The insights suggest measures to promote the adoption of post-harvest technologies among stakeholders.

How Indonesia’s Cities Are Grappling with Plastic Waste: An Integrated Approach towards Sustainable Plastic Waste Management

In Indonesia, plastic constitutes the second largest component of municipal solid waste; however, 58% remains uncollected. Most plastic recycling depends on informal sectors, accounting for only 10% of the total, leaving the remainder to potentially harm the environment. This paper analyzes how cities in Indonesia have tackled their plastic waste problems from the perspective of the integrated sustainable waste management framework. This study focuses on plastic waste management (PWM) in three cities: Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Magelang. Data were collected from 41 semi-structured interviews, a plastic waste composition data analysis, and site visits. The research outcomes include a comprehensive analysis of stakeholder roles, plastic waste flow, plastic waste composition data, and various challenges in PWM. This study identifies three main stakeholders in collecting plastic wastes: the Department of Environment as the main local government body, community-based waste banks, and private waste management companies. Most recyclable plastic waste is recovered through waste banks and private collection services. In 2022, the predominant types of plastic waste in Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Magelang City were soft plastics, thick plastics, and hard plastics, respectively. The challenges for the PWM stem from various aspects in political, legal, and institutional; environmental; financial and technical; and socio-cultural spheres. Positive trends towards an integrated system are observed, although full integration has not yet been achieved. The research recommends a multi-stakeholder cooperative approach involving municipal authorities, waste banks, and private collectors, responsive to local conditions and emphasizing sustainability aspects throughout waste management stages for a sustainable resource recycling in developing countries.

A review of the driving forces of the informal economy and policy measures for mitigation: an analysis of six EU countries

A review of the driving forces of the informal economy and policy measures for mitigation: an analysis of six EU countries

Access to early diagnosis for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among children and adolescents in Mexico City at specialized mental health services

BackgroundIn Mexico, this pioneering research was undertaken to assess the accessibility of timely diagnosis of Dyads [Children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and their primary caregivers] at specialized mental health services. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved designing an “Access Pathway” aimed to identify barriers and facilitators for ADHD diagnosis; several barriers, with only the teacher being identified as a facilitator. In the second phase, the study aimed to determine the time taken for dyads, to obtain a timely diagnosis at each stage of the Access Pathway. As well as identify any disparities based on gender and socioeconomic factors that might affect the age at which children can access a timely diagnosis.MethodIn a retrospective cohort study, 177 dyads participated. To collect data, the Acceda Survey was used, based on the robust Conceptual Model Levesque, 2013. The survey consisted of 48 questions that were both dichotomous and polytomous allowing the creation of an Access Pathway that included five stages: the age of perception, the age of search, the age of first contact with a mental health professional, the age of arrival at the host hospital, and the age of diagnosis. The data was meticulously analyzed using a comprehensive descriptive approach and a nonparametric multivariate approach by sex, followed by post-hoc Mann-Whitney’s U tests. Demographic factors were evaluated using univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses.Results71% of dyads experienced a late, significantly late, or highly late diagnosis of ADHD. Girls were detected one year later than boys. Both boys and girls took a year to seek specialized mental health care and an additional year to receive a formal specialized diagnosis. Children with more siblings had longer delays in diagnosis, while caregivers with formal employment were found to help obtain timely diagnoses.ConclusionsOur findings suggest starting the Access Pathway where signs and symptoms of ADHD are detected, particularly at school, to prevent children from suffering consequences. Mental health school-based service models have been successfully tested in other latitudes, making them a viable option to shorten the time to obtain a timely diagnosis.

Volunteering for a Job: Creativity and Tanzanian Youth

This paper explores motivations behind voluntary activities of youth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, during an increasingly common period of ‘waithood,’ characterized by prolonged status as youth and delay in adulthood due to challenges with unemployment. Drawing on ethnographic anthropological fieldwork conducted in 2019, this paper uses stories of two youths from two youth-led organizations located in Dar es Salaam to explore differing motivations for engaging in volunteering. These examples illustrate how volunteering either acts as a stepping-stone to future employment or as a replacement for formal employment, dependent on class identity. It is argued that for Tanzanian youths, volunteering is a creative response to the challenges of waithood. This paper suggests that policymakers and civil society organizations addressing youth issues in Tanzania should recognize the diverse motivations and creative and strategic dimensions of volunteering to better support young people in navigating waithood and their futures.

Skilling in the Informal Economy in India: Identifying and Addressing Inequities in Designing and Delivering Lifelong Learning Opportunities

Lifelong learning opportunities (LLOs) for adults enhance their capabilities and resilience in adapting to changing circumstances, especially in the context of livelihoods. However, informal economy workers face barriers to accessing LLOs, including the digital divide among other challenges. An action research case study of an Indian LLO provider shifting to hybrid vocational education reveals the potential of digital LLOs, where low mobile data costs, high phone penetration, and flexible options mitigate learning expenses. The study details the constraints that the informal economy learners and the LLO providers face and thus contributes to the literature analyzing the broader implications of market changes and skill development for sustainable development.

Catch me if you can: informal tourism employment of locals in scenic-oriented rural communities

ABSTRACT The expansion of the tourism industry has generated a plethora of informal job opportunities. However, existing literature has not thoroughly explored the extensive involvement of local residents in rural areas in informal tourism employment. This study focuses on the Fujian Tulou villages in China and employs the fieldwork method to investigate the phenomenon of informal tourism employment among local residents in scenic-oriented rural communities. The findings indicate that the dearth of employment prospects in rural areas, coupled with China’s distinctive rural land ownership system and the support from the rural social network, are the primary drivers motivating locals to participate in informal tourism employment. Locals employ tactics such as camouflage, tacit collusion, lurking, and covert actions to engage in informal tourism employment while navigating the regulations imposed by scenic area management. In efforts to standardize management within scenic areas, both local governments and tourism management companies are implementing measures such as offering formal employment opportunities and profit-sharing arrangements to incentivize the regularization of local employment in the tourism sector.

Medicalization as a social good? Lay perceptions about self-managed abortion, legality, and criminality

Interest in ending a pregnancy outside the formal healthcare sector, also known as self-managed abortion (SMA), is expected to increase in the wake of the overturning of Roe v Wade. However, there is little social scientific research on public perceptions of SMA, particularly regarding opinions around legality and criminalization. We seek to fill this gap in this paper by drawing on 54 in-depth interviews with a mixed-gender sample (men, women, nonbinary) recruited from eight U.S. states with the most restrictive abortion laws. Our analysis finds that most participants believed that SMA should not be illegal or criminalized largely due to two overarching justifications: (1) due to a belief that people should have a right to their own bodily autonomy even in the case of potential self-harm and (2) the belief that criminalizing SMA would be against public health goals. Further, many are concerned that making SMA illegal will lead to unfair or even cruel punishment. However, an underlying thread connecting both support and opposition to SMA legality and criminalization is the assumption that SMA is inherently harmful or dangerous, indicating a lack of lay awareness about the safety and efficacy of SMA using medication abortion pills. These findings indicate the power of medicalization and a valuing of medicalization as a social good, as many believe that behaviors occurring within the healthcare system are inherently safer, more justified, and more moral.

Female Labour In Unorganised Sector Of Andhra Pradesh-An Empirical Analysis

Female Labour In Unorganised Sector Of Andhra Pradesh-An Empirical Analysis

Productivity and wage gaps between informal and formal firms in India: Trends and determinants

ABSTRACT This study examines the productivity and wage gaps between informal and formal sector firms in India. Using a comprehensive dataset covering a 15-year period, we explore the influence of access to finance, infrastructure, and labor regulations on these gaps. Employing standard Oaxaca decomposition method, we analyze the role of these factors in explaining the informal–formal gaps in wages and productivity. Our results reveal significant and expanding gaps in both productivity and wages between informal and formal firms. Decomposition analysis suggests firm characteristics and infrastructure as primary factors widening the gaps, while access to finance and flexible labor regulations help narrow them. The findings point to the importance of targeted interventions needed to augment the growth and development of the informal manufacturing sector. Policies that enhance access to finance, improve infrastructure, and promote favorable labor markets can contribute to narrowing the gaps.

Migration Along Bengaluru’s Rural–Urban Continuum: Implications for Household Well-being and Climate Change Adaptation

The academic literature on internal migration in India has been limited to studies which either capture the well-being of migrants at home or destination. With rural–urban (R–U) boundaries blurring and peri-urban areas gaining economic importance, it is imperative to move away from such binaries towards a continuum approach. Using mixed methods, this paper examines the differentiated nature of migration—its drivers and outcomes—across a R–U continuum in Karnataka. Combining household surveys with focus group discussions and life history interviews, across Bengaluru, its periphery and two predominantly rural districts, which are a source of in-migration, we document the variegated nature of migration. We show that while migrants into Bengaluru enter mostly unskilled livelihoods, peri-urban migrants tend to work in the formal sector. We also show how migration decisions are shaped by climate variability, environmental change, and social and class identity; and these factors mediate differentiated outcomes of moving on household well-being. Our findings have implications for interventions aimed at strengthening household capacities to deal with climatic and non-climatic risks and regional climate-resilient development. We also highlight that enabling inclusive, climate-resilient migration requires comprehensive interventions targeting material and subjective well-being of migrating households and individuals.

Integrating national accounting and macroeconomic approaches to estimate the underground, informal, and illegal economy in European countries

AbstractThis article proposes a hybrid national accounts (NA)-macroeconometric approach to fill the gap between the demand for reliable and internationally comparable estimates and the sparse availability of official statistics based on the NA approach. The proposed method combines data from Eurostat’s Tabular approach for the exhaustiveness of NA with estimates based on theoretical hypotheses on the drivers of non-observed production. We estimate underground, informal, and illegal economies for 22 European countries over the period 2000–2020.

Knowledge and Uptake of Community-Based Healthcare Financing in Management of Non-Communicable Diseases among Community Members in Anambra State, Nigeria

Background: Catastrophic health expenditure is one of the challenges people living with non-communicable disease face, especially in Nigeria. This has led to the emergence of community-based health insurance as a means to achieve universal health coverage and reduce out-of-pocket payments. However, lack of knowledge about the insurance scheme and how it helps to manage non-communicable diseases seems to affect utilization. Aim: The study assessed the knowledge and uptake of community based healthcare financing in the management of non-communicable diseases among community members in Anambra State. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study, sample size was 444 and a multistage sampling technique was used. The instrument for data collection was a self structured questionnaire and data obtained were analyzed using Microsoft excel, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics for hypothesis testing and IBM statistical package for social Sciences (SPSS) version 29. Results: 64.1% had a good knowledge of community based healthcare financing; 51.4% managed their health condition through hospital visits under CBHI. There was a significant relationship between the level of education of respondents and their level of knowledge of community based health insurance (p-value 0.001 < 0.05). Conclusion: Majority had a good knowledge; those suffering pregnancy related non-communicable diseases used the insurance more although half of the respondents still pay through their pocket. The following recommendations were made: increase access to community-based healthcare financing information, encourage those in the informal sector to enroll and plan benefit packages to have wide illness coverage.

Adding an informal sector to the IS-LM framework: A graphical exposition of the IS-LM-PC-SE model for the classroom and policymaker

Economic policies have been shown to affect the macroeconomy in a different fashion when a sizeable shadow economy is explicitly taken into account. But, in spite of its seemingly high relevance, no intermediate-Macroeconomics textbook posits a discussion on this topic. In this paper, we seek to make a contribution by extending an otherwise conventional IS-MR-PC model along the same lines of the approach used in Blanchard’s highly acclaimed textbook (Blanchard, 2016a) to include an informal sector. We find that this two-sector model is capable of qualitatively reproducing the main basic results obtained in this literature. Therefore, importantly, this work provides a toolkit intended for undergraduate students, practitioners, policymakers, and, in general, nonspecialists on the cost-benefit analysis of economic policies in the presence of a significant underground economy.

Precarious Youth and Everyday Improvisation in Kinshasa

In Kinshasa, chronic crises and lack of access to employment, quality education, and other resources contribute to the social exclusion of a growing number of disadvantaged young people. They are deprived of the possibilities of leading a decent life and alienated from both the market and legitimate authorities. Despite their social, political, and economic marginalization, many of these precarious Congolese youth have proved adept at improvising livelihoods in the informal economy and seek out ways to be agents of social change.