Informal Workforce Research Articles

Examining the Influence of Socio-Economic and Demographic Transformation on Employment In the Informal Sector From 2017 To 2020

This study explored the impact of socio-demographic changes on informal sector employment in South Africa from 2017 to 2020. Utilizing data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), descriptive statistics and logistic regression were employed to analyze relationships between age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, and education within the informal workforce. The results revealed significant shifts in employment patterns, particularly affecting youth and marginalized groups. The findings emphasize the vital role of socio-demographic factors in shaping the informal sector and highlight the need for targeted policies to support vulnerable populations and improve their economic opportunities in a fluctuating labor market.

Enabling sustainable circular economy in Indian municipal solid waste management system: an ISM and fuzzy MICMAC approach

PurposeMismanagement of municipal solid waste (MSW) has led to resource depletion, ecosystem degradation and socio-economic risks, emphasizing the necessity to promote sustainable circular economy (SuCE) practices. This article identifies relevant enablers and unveils their interconnected roles in facilitating a municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system aligned with the principles of SuCE.Design/methodology/approachTo identify pertinent enablers for MSWM systems based on SuCE principles, the study conducted a literature review and engaged experts from waste management sectors and academia to consolidate the final list of enablers. Following this, the study investigated the inter-relationships among these enablers using both Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) integrated and fuzzy Matrix Impact Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification (fuzzy MICMAC) with MATLAB.FindingsThe study identified a comprehensive set of 23 enablers and categorized them into four control measures instrumental for the effective integration of SuCE principles in the context of the Indian MSWM system. Notably, the analysis highlighted that “authoritative pressure” and “policy transformation” are the highly influential enablers.Practical implicationsThe study emphasizes actionable implications for stakeholders in the Indian MSWM sector. Policymakers and governmental bodies can enforce “authoritative pressure,” “policy transformation” and “budget allocation”. Meanwhile, managers can focus on “promotion of SuCE awareness”, “formalizing the informal workforce”, “infrastructure modernization”, “stakeholder engagement and alignment”, “segregation strategy”, “disruption preparedness”, and “local-based strategy”.Originality/valueThis study proposed a unique ISM diagraph and cluster of enablers to enhance the novelty of the study.

Route to prospects or distress?: COVID-19 and migrants’ employment in India

ABSTRACT In India, the COVID-19 pandemic called attention to the plight of the informal migrant workforce who travelled back to their villages on foot intending to sustain themselves and survive. Based on the responses of 374 migrants originally from West Bengal migrating to other regions in India and abroad, this paper explores how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped migrants’ employment conditions. Using non-parametric tests, i.e. the Kruskal–Wallis, Wilcoxon, effect size, etc., the study compares migrants’ access to work before the initiation of lockdown, during the lockdown and post-lockdown relaxation. Further, by applying logistic regression analysis, the study examines the factors influencing their preference to seek employment in regions other than their home states. The results indicate that the migrants experienced shortfalls during times of crisis. There were differences in their access to the previous jobs during and after the upliftment of the lockdown measures. Though there was uncertainty in accessing the previous jobs and fear of facing similar situations in the future, the analysis suggests that the migrants still preferred to move to other states in future.

Informal Employment and High Burden of Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Payments among Older Workers: Evidence from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India.

India's economy is among the fastest growing in the world. However, a large share of informal workforce is a common characteristic of country's economy, comprises a significant portion of most of its labour markets. This workforce often receives low wages and lacks benefits such as strong social security and health coverage for all. The majority of healthcare spending in India is private. As India's population ages and the informal sector expands, it is expected that many of these workers will continue to work beyond the retirement age to bear their own healthcare costs due to lack of savings, pensions and the precarious nature of their employment. In this context, this study estimates the burden of Out-of-Pocket (OOP) payments on India's informal older workers compared to their formal counterparts, using data from the first wave of the nationally representative Longitudinal Ageing Study in India. According to estimates from the Two-part regression model, informal older workers pay, on an average, INR 1113 (p<0.01) and INR 55 (p<0.05) less than their formal counterparts for inpatient and outpatient care, respectively. However, probit regression models revealed that the burden of combined (both inpatient and outpatient) OOP payments exceeding (by 40%, 20%, and 10%) of their income is significantly higher among informal older workers compared to formal older workers. The study underscores the need for strengthening of universal health insurance schemes to ensure everyone has access to medical services without experiencing financial hardship. It also advocates for policies specifically tailored towards informal workers, considering their unique challenges with regard to livelihoods and healthcare security. In particular, this encompasses bolstering the existing social security and healthcare system, and related policies for ensuring financial security against OOP payments, especially for informal workers and all the population in general.

Opportunities and challenges for circular economy in the Maldives: A stakeholder analysis of informal E-waste management in the Greater Malé Region

In the Maldives, the contribution of the informal sector to e-waste management is significant as a formal e-waste management system is not yet established. The opportunities for advancing the circular economy in the Maldives’ e-waste sector rely on the possibility of its formalization. This study aimed to examine the current and anticipated situations of e-waste management in the Greater Malé Region of the Maldives, with a specific focus on formalizing the informal sector. Interviews and questionnaire-based surveys were conducted followed by statistical analysis of the data. The t-test performed for the consumer survey data (n = 202) suggests that formalization encourages consumers to engage with the informal sector, resulting in increased resource recovery. Thematic analysis of interviews conducted with both formal and informal sector stakeholders (n = 17) revealed that the informal sector plays a substantial role in managing e-waste. It also underscored the need for government assistance to enhance safety and productivity in this sector. Various opportunities and challenges for establishing a circular economy in the country were identified, such as the rise in e-waste generation, the presence of an active informal workforce, the lack of sufficient government support, and prevailing stereotypes among consumers regarding informal workers. These findings provide a fresh perspective on the solutions for waste management in the Maldives and open the door to further explore the significance of the informal sector and feasible formalization initiatives. This study could contribute to the literature on the role of the informal sector in waste management in the Maldives and other small island developing states.

Changes and interruptions during COVID-19: caregivers of people with brain health challenges-A qualitative analysis.

The social and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted people's physical and mental health. The majority of care for individuals with brain health challenges, including dementia and mental illness, is provided by informal family caregivers. The "Coping with Loneliness, Isolation and COVID-19" (CLIC) Global Caregiver Survey 2020 received responses from over 5,000 caregivers across 50 countries of people living with enduring brain and/or physical health conditions. This study examined English-speaking caregivers of people with brain health challenges (dementia and mental health conditions) descriptions of changes and interruptions in their ability to provide care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected as part of the large-scale CLIC Global Caregiver Survey. Data from over 900 English language respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. A multidisciplinary team of clinicians and health policy practitioners participated in team-based qualitative analyses. The majority of respondents were from the United States (71% USA), female (83%) and care providers to people living with dementia (81%). Respondents reported concerns about their loved one's physical and mental health, the limited access to other caregiving sources and the limited opportunities to maintain personal wellbeing. Practical, social, psychological and emotional impacts affected their ability to offer care. There was clear evidence that the disruption to health and social care services-institutions, day care and home services impacted the ability to offer care. The pandemic may be seen as a catastrophic "event" that negatively impacted lives and livelihoods. A number of the social determinants of health were negatively impacted for the caregivers surveyed during this prolonged period. Caring for caregivers and supportive health and social care interventions are required to maintain the wellbeing of this informal workforce. This study represents the largest, cross-country survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on caregivers of people with brain health challenges to date; serving as an important resource for support agencies and to inform policy.

Against the tide: A case of industrial relations transformation in the Indian coal sector

AbstractAlthough the scholarly debate on industrial relations (IR) transformation is inclined toward the conclusion that the IR transformation is bound to take place with changes in the surrounding business environment, we observe a few exceptions in each economy. The current study investigates one of such curious IR contexts, that is, the Indian coal sector. We rely on the ‘logic of the action’ framework and the IR transformation measures to assess the sector at an aggregate and micro level. The coal sector in India consists of a mix of both permanent and informal workforce. With respect to the permanent workforce, we analysed the collective bargaining agreements spanned over five decades (1975–2021). For the informal workforce, we analysed the recommendations of the HPC on wages and working conditions, the provisions of relevant legislation, internal circulars of coal companies and important judicial pronouncements. Our analyses revealed vast differences in wages and working conditions between the permanent and informal workforce. Despite a significant decline in the permanent workforce, they could negotiate better terms as the growing size of the informal workforce was yet to form a collective bargaining mechanism for better wages and working conditions. These results are indicative of a paradox which needs to be explored further. Our study advances the thesis of adaptive state capitalism in the coal sector through functional and numerical flexibility despite a politicised multi‐union model in India.

Impact of Venezuelan Migration on the Informal Workforce of Native Workers in Colombia

Colombia experienced a substantial increase in annual migration flow from Venezuela from 2013 to 2019, accumulating 1.7 million migrants by the end of 2019. According to migration data, 2016 was a breaking point in migration growth, with an increase of 137.57% compared with 2015 and at which time the influx of migrant workers began to be massive, rapid, and involuntary. In this regard, the research paper investigates, using a difference-in-differences model, the impacts on the labor market across different definitions of the informal workforce, testing the hypothesis that short-term labor migration increased (1) the number of employed individuals in companies with a workforce of fewer than five people, (2) the number of employed individuals not contributing to the social security system, and (3) the relative participation of the informal workforce in total employment from 2015 to 2018. The main results indicate an expansion in the labor market’s informal segment, increasing the number of non-returned native workers in the informal workforce without significant increases in the participation of informality in total employment. The results remain robust across various samples in models adjusted for departmental-, municipal-, and individual-level data. Following the economic theory, the research findings seem to follow a transmission mechanism in which migrant workers reduce labor costs and increase production in informal markets, providing better conditions to increase informal jobs for native workers. Several national and international stakeholders implementing income-generation alternatives in the border departments focusing on migrant employment services could find the research findings helpful in at least two aspects: (1) fighting cultural stereotypes upon which basis native workers tend to see migration as a threat to their current job holdings requires evidence that shows migrant workers contribute to economic growth and employment; (2) promoting better public policies to take advantage of initial conditions that favor labor integration of migrant workers such as cultural and language similarities among natives and migrants works better when there is evidence of the migration’s positive impacts.

Labour Rights Of Women Construction Workers In India: A Socio-Legal Perspective

Neo-liberal policies introduced in 1991 to achieve wealth and profit have led to the decreasing social character of production in India due to privatization and deregulation. The nature of the appropriation of material resources and power by the private players in India’s growing market economy has widened the gap between the rich and poor. The increasing monopoly of business enterprises and the impact of global forces of capital have created underdevelopment and marginalization of workers. The capitalist nature of development in India has generated massive growth discounting the labour rights of workers thereby leading to social inequality and domination of workers. India’s real estate industry faced a boom with a spiralling increase in the information technology and information technology-enabled services sector leading to the emergence of urban metros and urban industrial hubs due to privatization. The real-estate dynamics in India is directly influenced by the growth of the construction sector. The construction sector comprises unskilled, skilled and semi-skilled workers. Women comprise a significant percentage of the informal work-force in the construction sector. The intersections of gender and class interplay leading to subversion and marginalization of women construction workers in particular. This qualitative research study employs narrative analysis of interviews with women construction workers to explore the scope of labour rights of women construction workers in India through a critical examination of India’s labour laws.

Street Vendors Using Smartphones for Digital Payments: A Qualitative Study of Digital Opportunities and Inequalities From Kashmir Region in India

There are around 4.9 million street vendors in India, a large part of the country’s informal sector workforce. Linked to India’s focus on digital economy and promotion of digital transactions, there is growing popularity of mobile payment (m-payment) applications or m-wallets such as PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, Bhim, and so on. This is also the case with street vendors, and the sight of a street vendor with a QR barcode for accepting payments is not uncommon. How do street vendors make sense of smartphone-based transactions in their lives? In qualitative interviews with street vendors in Srinagar city in Kashmir region in India, a complex picture emerged. Street vendors were mostly illiterate or had limited education, but were quickly adopting m-payments. For online transactions, QR barcode stickers were mostly displayed on carts of street vendors in Kashmir. However, at the same time, vendors had little or no understanding of these m-payment apps. They had limited language skills and had to take help of literate friends or family members to check transactions or to get over difficulties in operation. The use of these m-payment apps or m-wallet smartphone applications introduced new opportunities associated with digital payments. However, gaps in digital skills are pronounced, and remained a major challenge for the street vendors. During the course of fieldwork in Srinagar (2022–2023), we also observed that m-payment companies introduced technological solutions such as speaker-based instant audio confirmations for payments such as Paytm Soundbox and PhonePe Smartspeaker. This is indicative of the continuous tracking of the informal sector usage by such companies, and clearly they are aware and receptive of such gaps. However, market-linked technological solutions only address operational gaps, and do not address the underlying causes, including illiteracy, and knowledge or skill gaps. Such observations can be helpful in planning and implementation of government policies for street vendors in India.

An Analysis of Gig Workers and Challenges Surrounding Their Employment

The workforce in India comprises about 450 million informal workers, amounting to 92.4% of India’s workforce. In terms of employment, the unorganised sector employs about 83% of the workforce. Interestingly, a new sector of informal workforce has emerged in the last decade famously called the “gig workers” or “platform-based” workers. The term “unorganised worker” has been defined under the Unorganized Workers' Social Security Act, 2008, as a home based worker, self-employed worker or a wage worker. This definition, perhaps does not include gig workers but they fall under the second clause of the definition where the term has not been defined in any of the labour codes. They are addressed as platform workers, as they are employed by corporations via digital applications creating a platform-dependent employment system. Rajasthan was the first state in India to draft a bill, for the protection of gig workers and provide them with adequate regulatory mechanism to prevent exploitation of their freelance. This paper analyses various aspects of gig economy, taking into account the increasing need of platform workers. It also proposes certain measures to address the needs of these workers and suggests a well devised mechanism for smooth relations between worker and the aggregator. Much of the gig economy boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, where it came in handy for delivery of food, essentials, and transportation services, which was hugely affected during the pandemic. The scope of the research is limited to discussing various issues faced by platform workers (workers employed by aggregators like Swiggy, Ola, Uber etc.) and suggesting certain solutions for the same.

Analysis of the labour market impacts of the coronavirus pandemic: Evidence from Zambia

ABSTRACT This paper examines the short-term impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on firms in a developing country i.e. Zambia. This is motivated by the characteristics of the Labour market in developing countries where informality dominates, and female workers form a larger proportion of the informal workforce. The Zambian version of the World Bank Enterprise Survey conducted just before the pandemic (September 2019 to March 2020) and during the pandemic (June 6 to 17 July 2020) is used to explore the experience of firms in terms of changes in the number of employees and firm survival. Results suggest that informal workers are more likely to lose their jobs while firms that are at least partly owned/managed by females are also less likely to survive. It is argued that policy actions that protect informal workers are salient especially since future pandemics cannot be ruled out.

The power of financial behavior in emergency funds: Empirical evidence from a developing country

Emergency funds are considered a buffer against financial shocks, especially for the informal workforce or individuals living in developing countries with lower-middle income. This research investigates the role of financial literacy in emergency funds. Specifically, financial literacy in this research is approached in three aspects financial knowledge, financial behavior, and financial attitude. Logistic and order logistic regression are applied to analyze the data collected from the Southeast region of Vietnam, a developing country in Asia. The results show that those with better financial behavior are more likely to have emergency funds and their savings are adequate to cover 3-month living expenses or more in comparison with those who have worse financial behavior. Furthermore, while the findings emphasize the importance of financial education and income level in establishing an emergency fund, only income level is a crucial determinant of the size of emergency funds. However, financial knowledge and financial attitude are not found to have a statistically significant impact on saving for emergency funds. These findings provide empirical evidence regarding developing countries with lower middle income to support the literature on personal finance and provide policymakers with suggestions on how to improve individuals’ financial behavior and encourage savings for emergency funds.

Exploring Compassion-Buying Behavior Among Demographic Segments During COVID-19

Purpose : The pandemic affected disadvantaged service providers, such as street vendors. Different media urged consumers to “no bargain” and “vocal for local” to alleviate pandemic challenges. The self-interest and value-seeking customer behavior were contextually unsuitable with the fear of infection, reduced time for buying, scarcity, and price fluctuations. Did compassion influence a person’s buying behavior? This research investigated the validity of a compassion buying scale and found its demographic differences. Methodology : An online, anonymous survey with convenient sampling collected 551 responses during the second wave of the pandemic in Eastern India. The questionnaire sought responses to demographic and compassion buying measures. The compassion buying behavior scale was developed from relevant literature. The reliability and validity measures calculated from the obtained responses were in the acceptable range. Findings : The results indicated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, people did less compassion buying. Compassion buying indicated a U-shape curve by age and economic status. To enhance the scale, future research can include bargain intent, product characteristics, and psychographic characteristics. Practical Implications : Given the large informal market, vendor, and workforce in a developing nation like India, compassion buying is probably the key to the recovery and growth of various products and services typically offered by disadvantaged vendors. The role of compassion in consumption requires additional investigation during normal times. Originality : This study reported preliminary findings on “compassion buying” as a distinct aspect of consumer psychology, different from altruism. It complements responsible consumption, ethical consumerism, and sustainable development.

Food and communities in post-COVID-19 cities: Case of India

While Covid-19 pandemic has affected countries across the world, the burden has been shared disproportionately by urban poor from the cities in Global South. In much of Global South, while cities have emerged as growth centers, they are mostly driven by informalities, belying the image of cities, visualized in the mainstream development economics literature as a place of secured formal jobs that free one from the drudgery of rural life. Covid-19 pandemic has exposed these fault-lines in the cities. India serves as a typical case of such urban-centric growth, with informal workers, predominated by disadvantaged social and religious categories, accounting for 81% of workers in urban space. In cities, migrant in general and seasonal migrants increasingly account for bulk of informal workforce. The lockdown imposed in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic left the community of households reliant on informal works for livelihoods, without any rights and entitlements, which affect their access to food. The review of evidence collected in both primary surveys and macro level data points towards sluggishness in recovery of jobs, which coupled with high food inflation, suggests that access to food continues to be an issue in urban governance. The paper calls for a roadmap entailing both short-term and long-term measures to build sustainable urban livelihoods for ensuring food secure urban space in India.

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Unconditional cash transfers for breastfeeding women in the Mexican informal workforce: Time for social justice.

OPINION article Front. Public Health, 01 March 2023Sec. Health Economics Volume 11 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1101466

Who builds Shanghai's fiber-optic network? Thinking urban infrastructure through migrant construction labor

While a growing body of literature understands infrastructure through the social relations and labor that make it possible, the work of construction in infrastructure projects remains under-theorized. Drawing on participatory research with migrant construction workers in Shanghai, China, I consider the outcomes of a reliance on informal, migrant labor in Shanghai's multi-year “Overhead-Underground” infrastructure renovation project, which moves overhead fiber-optics cabling underground. Like other Chinese infrastructure projects, this reconstruction of Shanghai's fiber-optic network relies on large quantities of on-the-ground construction labor, drawn from a low-wage, precarious, and largely informal migrant workforce that is not expected not be incorporated into the city. Through engagement with scholarship that has viewed people and social relationships as infrastructure, I demonstrate the processes by which informal migrant construction labor facilitates both physical construction and the accumulation of infrastructural knowledge, both of which are necessary to the completion of infrastructural upgrading projects.

Migration, Informality and the Growing Precarity of Work

We view the impact of three decades of rapid growth and structural change in India on the lives of the working poor in terms of the growing precarity of work. The COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown in 2020 and the ensuing crisis exposed the vulnerability of informal workers, particularly circular migrants, and resulted in the largest ever urban exodus of migrants. The crisis was a result of changes that had systematically increased the magnitude and scope of informal employment in the industrial and service sectors, and created a cheap, flexible and pliable workforce. Circular migrants, a product of uneven regional development, form an ever-growing segment of this flexible, informal workforce. Largely excluded from urban citizenship and civic rights, they lead a precarious existence, oscillating between town and country, and carrying out tasks that preserve gender and social hierarchies.

Digital Transformation of Informal Workers in the New Normal Era: “Can It Be the Solution We Are Searching For?”

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to accelerate digitalisation transformation in Indonesia. Various economic activities have involved digital media, the internet, and information technology to support productivity, including informal workers who make up the majority of workers in East Java. This research can provide an initial picture of digital transformation and its impact on informal workers in the new normal through the National Labor Force Survey Data from 2019 to 2022, complemented by other data. Using binary logistic regression analysis, all independent variables in the form of digitalisation, social security, productive age, and risk of exposure to COVID-19 proved to have a significant effect on the welfare of informal workers in the new normal. Furthermore, with the focus of the analysis on digitisation, this study shows that digitalisation can significantly catalyse the formalisation of the informal workforce. The formalisation will reduce the vulnerability of informal workers so that microeconomic activity can be accelerated, which impacts the macroeconomy and society in East Java. This study can also describe the specific segmentation of regencies/cities in East Java regarding the readiness for digitalisation transformation as measured by analysis of variable factors related to the demand and supply sides of digital transformation. Both sides were then carried out a cluster analysis of the Regency/City area in East Java.