Informal Sector Workers Research Articles

Accessibility of Health Insurance among Informal Sector Workers in Dar es Salaam Tanzania: What Are the Barriers?

Accessibility of Health Insurance among Informal Sector Workers in Dar es Salaam Tanzania: What Are the Barriers?

Effects of COVID-19 on coastal livelihoods in the central region of Ghana

The COVID-19 outbreak effects and related state responses, especially mobility restriction interventions, contributed to disruption in livelihoods in the coastal communities in Ghana. This paper uses an ethnographic approach to analyse the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and coping strategies adopted by small-scale fishers, fish traders and processors. We argued that focusing solely on the livelihoods of formal sector workers is problematic because it fails to consider the dynamics of informal coastal workers. Findings indicate that fishers, fish traders and processors experienced various effects on food, income, police harassment, and coping strategies, including migration, resorting to reusable face masks and food-compromising practices. Infectious diseases such as COVID-19 impact coastal people and their livelihoods. Therefore, implementing social protection measures to mitigate the effects of pandemics on livelihoods should be better coordinated and well-targeted to reach the most vulnerable. Findings from this study offer pointers to position preparedness and response efforts to future outbreaks in a similar context.

Impacts of disruptive innovation with the emergence of startups and startup users in the informal sector of Palembang City, Indonesia

This study aimed to explain the impacts of disruptive innovation with the emergence of startups and startup users in the informal sector in Palembang City. It employed a mixed-methods design. In the quantitative part, a questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data from 384 respondents, and statistical analyses in the forms of percentage calculation and cross-tabulations were conducted. In the qualitative method, an interview guide was used to gather data from 16 informants, and the data obtained were analyzed using data reduction, data display, conclusion drawing, and verification. The main results of the study are that the characteristics of startups and startup users within the city’s informal-sector worker population are businesses that rely on existing markets, bootstrapping, and are for profit. In addition, disruptive innovation has positive impacts, namely gaining more experience for startups and increasing revenue for startup users, and both startups and startup users experience no negative impact. The main conclusion drawn from these results is that startups and startup users run the same types of business based on the market used, source of funding, and motivation. Also, they feel different positive impacts of disruptive innovation but share the same experience about the negative impact.

The Urgency of Health Insurance Literacy for Indonesian People: Between Smoking and Paying JKN Premium

Introduction: Declining the rates of smoking among the poor still becomes a challenge for the health sector. Ideally, they can use the money for smoking to pay for their family health insurance premium. This research aimed to analyze how the poor in the informal sector perceived the payment of National Health Insurance (NHI/ JKN) using the cigarette cost.Methods: Data were collected from focus group discussions (FGD) in three different locations, Deli Serdang, Sumedang Districts and Medan City. Thirty-three informal sector workers with low financial capabilities participated in these FGDs. Health Belief Model was used as the framework for analyzing the data and information. Data analysis was conducted through the content analysis method.Results: The finding showed that poor people who work in the informal sector gave two different responses regarding the use of cigarette costs for paying the NHI/JKN program premium. The respondents had already an excellent perceived susceptibility and severity both on smoking habits and their low finance condition. They believed that the NHI/JKN benefit was to protect them financially if their family members need medical treatment. However, they had low self-efficacy and high perceived barriers that hinder them from replacing the money for buying cigarettes into paying for NHI/JKN premium.Conclusion: An approach to the poor people in the informal sector within their local context, is urgently needed to increase their health insurance literacy and knowledge about smoking.

Occupational Health and Safety Conditions of Informal Sector Workers in Three Nigerian Cities

Abstract Despite its economic relevance, the informal sector in Nigeria is plagued by occupational health and safety (ohs) anomalies. This study assessed ohs conditions among informal sector workers (isw s) operating in three Nigerian cities (Sokoto, Owerri and Port Harcourt). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a total of 717 isw s. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. Logistic regression was used in predicting good ohs practices, based on gender, education level, occupation, health impairments and common health and safety practices. The findings show that many isw s have inadequate water sources and sanitary facilities and poor occupational health and safety practices. The overall model was statistically significant in predicting the likelihood of having good ohs practices. The study concludes that ohs conditions among isw s are poor as a result of insufficient water and sanitation facilities and poor environmental health practices. Improved water and sanitation provision and ohs awareness and education programmes for isw s, in line with their specific occupations and susceptibility to certain kinds of occupational health impairment, are recommended.

The Impact of Seguro Popular on the Progression of Disabilities Among Older Adults With Chronic Degenerative Diseases in Mexico.

In a context of population aging, poverty, and inequalities including in the access to healthcare services, in 2004 Mexico initiated Seguro Popular (SP), a non-contributory health insurance providing coverage for informal sector workers excluded from social security. We analyze the impact of SP on the progression of functional limitations among adults aged over 50 with chronic degenerative diseases previously without stable health insurance. Panel data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) permit a difference-in-difference propensity score matching approach, comparing respondents before (2003) and after (2015) the implementation of SP. Findings suggest that SP affiliation in (or shortly before) 2012 has (weakly) slowed the progression of mobility, IADL, and ADL limitations, with a clearer effect in large urban centers. Reforms in the healthcare sector should address underlying structural barriers, reduce existing inequities, and provide effective access to high-quality services. with increased attention for long-term care needs, to guarantee healthy aging.

Risk Factors for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Informal Sector Workers: Literature Review

CTS is one of the diseases that occurs in many workers so it is often referred to as work-related Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The high number of informal workers allows for high accidents in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to discuss the risk factors for the incidence of CTS in informal sector workers. This research is a descriptive research with the literature review method. The literature search strategy uses a prism flow chart, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. The databases used include: PubMed, Taylor and francis, and Google Scholar. From the 20 articles, 19 of them used the cross-sectional type of research, and 1 article used the case-control type of research. The types of informal work obtained from the 20 articles are: motorcycle taxi drivers, farmers, batik and bead craftsmen, blacksmiths, stone breakers, meatball sellers, coconut peelers, woodcarvers, tailors, angkot drivers, small-scale convection, hairstylists, and butchers. Overall, the journal articles obtained discuss related to the risk factors for the incidence of CTS in informal sector workers. Repetitive movements, length of service, length of work, hand posture (awkward), age, gender, and body mass index were found to influence the incidence of CTS in informal sector workers. Meanwhile, grasping work and a history of diabetes mellitus were not found to be related to the incidence of CTS in informal sector workers.

Kepala Rumah Tangga Perempuan Pekerja Sektor Informal di Indonesia: Situasi dan Tantangan

The percentage of female-headed households tends to increase from year to year, where in 2012 the percentage of female-headed households reached 14.4%. This literature review aims to compare the characteristics of Male Heads of Households (MHH) and Female Heads of Households (FHH) working in the informal sector based on data from August 2017-2019. Based on the results of the study, it is known that from the total workers in the informal sector, characteristics are obtained that can distinguish between MHH and FHH. In MHH, it is dominated by workers with marital status, working in agricultural business fields, sufficient working hours (> = 35 hours), having low income, education after elementary school, being in a fairly young age group of 30-49 years. Meanwhile, FHH is dominated by workers with dead divorced marriage status, working in trading businesses, lacking working hours (<35 hours), having low incomes, education not graduating from elementary school, and being in the old age group of 50-64 years. Based on these characteristics, the government can provide guidance and provide facilities and capital assistance to informal sector workers, especially in MHH and FHH who are productive, work in the agricultural and trade sectors, have a low level of education, and those who work with high working hours in order to improve the standard of living of both mhh and fhh and their families. In addition, the attention from the government is expected to shift their status from those who initially worked in the informal sector slowly but surely to enter the formal sector.

Informality and Politics in the Global South: Three Perspectives

Informality is often studied by scholars of urban studies but has received comparatively little attention by political scientists. This is surprising given the fact that large portions of the world’s population live, work, or transfer funds informally. The conventional wisdom is that the informal economy—the portion of the economy operating outside the regulatory reach of the state—is not very political because informal sector workers are relatively atomized and find collective action to be costly. The three books reviewed here, however, demonstrate that the informal sector is not only characterized by important forms of political organization but also affects politics within government institutions—and can even contribute to regime downfall. Calla Hummel’s Why Informal Workers Organize and Shelby Grossman’s Politics of Order in Informal Markets examine organization among informal sector workers, with Hummel probing the circumstances under which organization occurs and Grossman when such organizations are effective. In Black Markets and Militants, Medani takes the opposite perspective, examining how informal financial flows and networks affect state regulatory capacity. These three books marshal significant amounts of original data, pointing to how future research on these important dynamics can be conducted.

Wage Gap Analysis Between Gender in The Informal Sector During Covid-19

The level of wages received by workers in the informal sector tends to be lower than workers in the formal sector. This condition can be exacerbated if there is gender discrimination, which causes differences in the distribution of wages for workers. This study aims to identify wage discrimination between genders of informal sector workers. The independent variables of this study consisted of education, age, training, incentives, gender, and type of work. Gender wage ratio and gender productivity ratio were estimated simultaneously using non-linear logistic regression method. This study found evidence of wage discrimination against women in the informal sector. Education and training contribute positively to equal pay between women and men

Urban commuting time and sick-leave medical license use: An empirical study of Santiago, Chile

We use a large dataset from the Chilean unemployment insurance program covering 20% of all formal sector workers to study the impact of commuting time on the likelihood of sick-leave in Santiago, Chile. Our empirical results indicate that longer commuting times are associated with an increase in the probability of sick-leave work absence. A 20% decrease in commuting times would generate close to 36 million dollars per year in productivity benefits. Our results also suggest that commuting travel time improvements targeted to women, lower paid workers and relatively older workers would provide the highest benefits in terms of lowering sick-leave behavior. We also find evidence that mobility infrastructure investments, such as metro and commuter rail expansions, reduce the probability of sick-leave. The results of this paper have implications for measuring the social costs of congestion and for the estimation of the wider economic benefits of transport projects.

Disparities in 6 Month Exclusive Breastfeeding in Ghana, Africa: A Scoping Review.

Exclusive breastfeeding practice for 6 months is a critical global public health goal. In 2020, only 44% of infants globally, 31% in Central and West Africa, and 43% in Ghana, were exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. To critically evaluate disparities in exclusive breastfeeding practice for 6 months in Ghana. The scoping review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) six-stage scoping review process. The online databases of American Psychological Association PsychInfo (APA PsychInfo), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and Scopus were searched with keywords inclusive of Ghana, exclusive breastfeeding, breastfeeding, infant feeding, lactation, lactating, and exclusive. Eligibility criteria included full-text, peer-reviewed research articles written in the English language without limitation to specific years. Data were analyzed thematically. Initially, 317 records were identified, and 15 full-text articles were eligible for the scoping review. Four main themes emerged as disparities in exclusive breastfeeding practice in Ghana. The themes were healthcare (prenatal clinic visits, delivery place, exclusive breastfeeding knowledge), personal (maternal age, Human Immunodeficiency Virus status, parity, type of delivery, breast problem), employment (unemployed, formal, or informal sector worker), and sociocultural (ethnicity/region, family support, religious beliefs, cultural practices). Disparities in exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana warrant the collaborative efforts of stakeholders for successful mitigation. Future researchers should explore the role of religion and sociocultural practices to protect, promote, and support 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana.

“Are We All in This Together?”: The Socioeconomic Impacts and Inequalities of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ghana’s Informal Economy

This paper examines the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the existing health inequalities disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. It explores the impact of COVID-19 pandemic response measures to “curb the spread” on informal sector workers in Ghana. In Ghana, like many other developing countries, the informal sector was impacted by a higher risk of exposure to the COVID-19 infection and the slew of pandemic response measures, for example, lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, as well as guidelines around social distancing implemented by their governments. Given the high level of precarity that undergirds work in the informal sector and the intersectional forces that contribute to and maintain their marginality—class, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and geographic location—this paper creates a space for dialogue about the unintended consequences of pandemic response measures on the livelihood security of informal sector workers.

Inequality of Low Air Quality-Related Health Impacts among Socioeconomic Groups in the World of Work.

This research aimed to assess the perceptions of air quality and health symptoms caused by low urban air quality among vulnerable socio-economic groups in the world of work in Bangkok, Thailand through a questionnaire survey of 400 workers of both formal and informal sectors in the five districts with different socio-economic characteristics and levels of air pollution. The findings showed symmetry between air quality-monitoring data and health symptoms of different socio-economic groups but asymmetry between air quality-monitoring data and people’s perceptions of air quality in their areas. It also showed inequalities of low air quality-related health impacts on socio-economic groups in the world of work. People working near the streets, highways, and industrial zones tended to have more health symptoms related to low air quality, and informal sector workers faced more health risks than formal sector workers. The study appeals for effective air pollution communication to enhance the public and informal sector worker population’s literacy of air pollution, the sources of air pollution and its critical health impacts, and the available and sufficient primary care organizations and community health care centers to address work-related health needs to reach the informal sector worker population.

INFORMAL SECTOR AND POVERTY ERADICATION STRATEGIES IN THE NEW NORMAL OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NORTH-WEST, NIGERIA

This study was conducted to find out informal sector and poverty eradication strategies in the new normal of covid-19 pandemic in North-West, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population consisted of all the registered Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Kano the largest city in the zone, Kaduna, Zaria, Sokoto, Katsina, Gusau, Garki and Funtua. These were metropolitan/commercial cities in each State in the North-West, Nigeria. It was hypothesized that there was no significant difference in the responses of the respondent groups on the level of effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the informal sector in North-East Nigeria; there was no significant difference in the responses of the respondent groups on the strategies adopted for the eradication of poverty among informal sector workers in North-West Nigeria in the new normal COVID-19 pandemic; there was no significant difference in the responses of the respondent groups on the factors that militate against the effective application of the strategies adopted for poverty eradication among the informal sector workers in North-West Nigeria in the new normal COVID-19 pandemic. Mean, t-test and correlation analysis were used to analyze to the data. All the hypotheses were retained. It was recommended among others that the State governments in the region should set aside emergency fund targeting informal sector in the zone. And that deferment of taxes or waiver of taxes, lower interest rate could also be embarked on by the appropriate policy makers in the zone to make informal sector remain afloat in the new normal COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: Poverty reduction, information sector, flexible loan, cost loan

Fire risk communication in the urban informal sector: Evidence from traditional marketplaces in Accra, Ghana

AbstractUrban marketplace fires in Ghana are chronic, devasting in economic losses and disproportionately impacting informal sector workers. Yet, the scholarly works on urban disasters have focused on hydrometeorological and other man‐made disasters to the neglect of marketplace fires, particularly the challenges in risk communication between emergency management agencies and urban marketplace workers. In seeking to extend the emerging but scant work on urban marketplace fires in Ghana, this paper analysed fire risk communication to understand how socio‐cultural factors influence the perceptions and protective behavioral strategies of traders in two traditional urban marketplaces of Accra. In‐depth interviews with both public agencies and traders showed that traders’ social networks and interactions are important sources and channels for fire risk communication, albeit unharnessed by formal emergency management agencies. It also revealed how cultural elements such as religious beliefs about fire risks affect proactiveness in fire risk preparedness and response. To ensure effective risk communication about marketplace fires, this paper calls attention to and mainstreaming of socio‐cultural aspects of everyday life in marketplaces into disaster risk planning and management.

The urgency of labor law for informal sector workers in the welfare state concept: An evidence in Indonesia

This study aims to re-examine the issues that involve outreaching the urgency of labor law for informal sector workers in the concept of the welfare state in Indonesia. The research method used is a normative juridical approach or a study of documents or literature that only focuses on labor laws currently in force in Indonesia. The qualitative method approach that is descriptive-analytic is used to describe the relationship of a phenomenon, idea, data, or fact that is found objectively. This study found that the rights, dignity, standard of living, and even the working environment of informal sector workers are still neglected by labor law in Indonesia today. The national labor law has not accommodated legal protection, guarantees, and social security, so there is a legal vacuum for informal sector workers. This condition contradicts the philosophy of Pancasila and the constitution, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. Thus, efforts to develop labor laws are expected to be carried out by the government together with the legislature to make all parties have the same position in the production process for the achievement of the company's progress. will have implications for national economic growth. On the other hand, this effort is expected to create legal harmonization in the field of employment in general and especially for informal sector workers in the welfare state in Indonesia.

Factors Affecting Job Fatigue In Informal Sector Workers : A Systematic Review

Work fatigue is a problem that must be prioritized, work fatigue is the second contributor to the number of work accidents after traffic accidents. The high number of informal workers allows high accidents in the workplace.The purpose of this study is to discuss the factors that influence fatigue in informal sector workers. This research is a descriptive study with a systematic review method. The literature search strategy uses a prism flow chart, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. The databases used include: PubMed, DOAJ, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, and Google Scholar. Of the 25 articles, all of them used cross-sectional research. The average type of informal work obtained from the 25 articles is labor. Overall, the journal articles obtained discuss the factors that affect work fatigue in informal sector workers. Age, nutritional status, workload were found to affect work fatigue in informal sector workers. Meanwhile, working period, working hours and work environment were not found to be related to the incidence of CTS in informal sector workers.

Disruptive innovation for online informal sector in Palembang City

The Internet has aided the informal sector to make an innovation in a business transaction. There is a shift from a conventional or face-to-face meeting with the consumers to online transactions. The present study aims to describe the disruptive innovation for the online informal sector in Palembang City. The method employed was quantitative with a descriptive approach, while the data were collected through a survey of 382 respondents. The data were then analyzed using the descriptive statistic method. The research resulted in several findings. The online informal sector is dominated by e-commerce through social media, such as Facebook, Instagram. YouTube, and others. The average income of the founders reached Rp250,000 – Rp500,000 per day. Meanwhile, the number of workers in the online informal sector is 1-4 people with an average income ranging from Rp1,000,000 to Rp2,000,000 per month. The workers mostly graduated from Senior high schools (SMA), Vocational high school (SMK), or Madrasah Aliyah (Islamic Senior high school). The main issue faced by the founders of online informal sectors includes strategic locations (near school, campus, markets, and others).

Exploring heterogeneity of national health insurance scheme enrolment among persons in the informal sector.

The Ghanaian government began implementing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2005, anchored on the universal health coverage principle. However, informal sector workers contribute to the low enrolment into the scheme. This paper examines the factors that influence enrolment status in Ghana's NHIS among individuals in the informal sector. The study employed the fixed-effects logit model, using the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey datasets. The findings revealed that gender, age, education, marital status, household size, physical activity, income, savings and subjective social welfare determine enrolment decisions of persons in the informal sector. Drivers of NHIS enrolment for male and female household heads were secondary education and household size. Heterogeneously, age, Junior High School education, married, physical activity, subjective social welfare and savings influenced only male-headed households' enrolment status. The study shows differences in enrolment status among rural and urban residents, as age, education, marital status, household size, and physical activity influenced rural residents, while for urban inhabitants', savings determined their NHIS enrolment decisions. However, gender, obesity, income and subjective social welfare predicted enrolment decisions for rural and urban residents. Finally, two variables, gender (male) and physical activity predicted the NHIS enrolment decision among the poor, whereas subjective social welfare and savings influenced the wealthiest enrolment decisions. For Ghana to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of universal health coverage, the study recommends enhanced public education on NHIS benefits among informal workers to promote enrolment.