Towards a Better Integration of the Informal Sector

Towards a Better Integration of the Informal Sector PDF Author: Nesma Mohamed Ali
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Despite the impressive economic growth of African economies since 2000s, the actual context is threatening the sustainable development of the private sector. Large institutional imperfections and poor business environment are hindering the development of firms and are paving the way for a more persistent informal sector. This thesis reopens the controversial debate about the informal sector by looking at its entrepreneurial capacity rather than its threats. In order to understand the strong persistence of this sector despite its confirmed negative impacts, we investigate the extent to which the relationship between formal and informal firms, through market competition, could affect the Egyptian economy. We find that more intense competition stemming from informal firms can drive formal firms to become more productive. We also extend our analysis to Sub-Saharan African countries by underlining the effect of taxation and regulation on the strength of competition between formal and informal firms. Our findings call on the importance of introducing the informal sector in undertaken policies that target the reform of taxation and regulations in Africa. These policies should also target the firms' access to source of finance, infrastructure and training as effective tools inducing the formalization process and fostering economic growth. Therefore, this thesis provides evidence on the importance of revisiting the impacts of the informal sector in developing countries by looking at it as a driver of economic growth rather than a threat.

Towards a Better Integration of the Informal Sector

Towards a Better Integration of the Informal Sector PDF Author: Nesma Mohamed Ali
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Despite the impressive economic growth of African economies since 2000s, the actual context is threatening the sustainable development of the private sector. Large institutional imperfections and poor business environment are hindering the development of firms and are paving the way for a more persistent informal sector. This thesis reopens the controversial debate about the informal sector by looking at its entrepreneurial capacity rather than its threats. In order to understand the strong persistence of this sector despite its confirmed negative impacts, we investigate the extent to which the relationship between formal and informal firms, through market competition, could affect the Egyptian economy. We find that more intense competition stemming from informal firms can drive formal firms to become more productive. We also extend our analysis to Sub-Saharan African countries by underlining the effect of taxation and regulation on the strength of competition between formal and informal firms. Our findings call on the importance of introducing the informal sector in undertaken policies that target the reform of taxation and regulations in Africa. These policies should also target the firms' access to source of finance, infrastructure and training as effective tools inducing the formalization process and fostering economic growth. Therefore, this thesis provides evidence on the importance of revisiting the impacts of the informal sector in developing countries by looking at it as a driver of economic growth rather than a threat.

The Long Shadow of Informality

The Long Shadow of Informality PDF Author: Franziska Ohnsorge
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464817545
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
A large percentage of workers and firms operate in the informal economy, outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies. This may hold back the recovery in these economies from the deep recessions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic--unless governments adopt a broad set of policies to address the challenges of widespread informality. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the extent of informality and its implications for a durable economic recovery and for long-term development. It finds that pervasive informality is associated with significantly weaker economic outcomes--including lower government resources to combat recessions, lower per capita incomes, greater poverty, less financial development, and weaker investment and productivity.

The Informal Economy Revisited

The Informal Economy Revisited PDF Author: Martha Chen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429575386
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
This landmark volume brings together leading scholars in the field to investigate recent conceptual shifts, research findings and policy debates on the informal economy as well as future challenges and directions for research and policy. Well over half of the global workforce and the vast majority of the workforce in developing countries work in the informal economy, and in countries around the world new forms of informal employment are emerging. Yet the informal workforce is not well understood, remains undervalued and is widely stigmatised. Contributors to the volume bridge a range of disciplinary perspectives including anthropology, development economics, law, political science, social policy, sociology, statistics, urban planning and design. The Informal Economy Revisited also focuses on specific groups of informal workers, including home-based workers, street vendors and waste pickers, to provide a grounded insight into disciplinary debates. Ultimately, the book calls for a paradigm shift in how the informal economy is perceived to reflect the realities of informal work in the Global South, as well as the informal practices of the state and capital, not just labour. The Informal Economy Revisited is the culmination of 20 years of pioneering work by WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing), a global network of researchers, development practitioners and organisations of informal workers in 90 countries. Researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and advocates will all find this book an invaluable guide to the significance and complexities of the informal economy, and its role in today’s globalised economy. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429200724, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Towards a Better Understanding of the Informal Economy

Towards a Better Understanding of the Informal Economy PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Striving for Better Jobs

Striving for Better Jobs PDF Author: Roberta Gatti
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 082139536X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
While economic growth has been sustained for a number of years in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, this has not resulted in the creation of an adequate number of jobs and has succeeded, at best, in generating low-quality, informal jobs. While there is a great deal of heterogeneity across countries, informality in MENA is widespread, and some countries in the region are amongst the most informal economies in the world. The book looks at informality through a human development angle and focuses specifically on informal employment. In line with this approach, the working definition for informality adopted in the book is “lack of social security coverage” (usually understood as pensions, or if a pension system does not exist, as health insurance), which captures well the vulnerability associated with informal employment. Informal workers in MENA are generally engaged in low productivity jobs - more so than in comparator countries -, are paid less for otherwise similar work in the formal sector, and self-report low levels of satisfaction at work. Also, informal workers in MENA face important mobility barriers into formal employment and thus lack of social security coverage against health, unemployment, and old-age risks. Formal employment in the MENA region is strongly associated with public sector employment. Opportunities for formal employment in the private sector in the region remain very limited. The book identifies 5 strategic directions to promote long-term inclusive growth and formality, namely: (i) fostering competition; (ii) realigning incentives in the public sector; (iii) moving towards labor regulations that promote labor mobility and provide support to workers in periods of transition; (iv) enhancing the productivity of informal workers through training and skills upgrading; and (v) reforming existing social insurance systems and introduce new instruments for coverage extension. This book is addressed to policy makers, academics, and practitioners who wish to understand the phenomenon of informal employment, and policy options for promoting more inclusive and productive labor market opportunities.

The Informal Sector and the Environment

The Informal Sector and the Environment PDF Author: Ranjula Bali Swain
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000655369
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
The informal economy – broadly defined as economic activity that is not subject to government regulation or taxation – sustains a large part of the world's workforce. It is a diverse, complex and growing area of activity. However, being largely unregulated, its impact on the environment has not been closely scrutinised or analysed. This edited volume demonstrates that the informal sector is a major source of environmental pollution and a major reason behind the environmental degradation accompanying the expansion of economic activity in developing countries. Environmental regulation and economic incentive policies are difficult to implement in this sector because economic units are unregistered, geographically dispersed and difficult to identify. Moreover, given their limited capital base, they cannot afford to pay pollution fees or install pollution abating equipment. Informal manufacturing units often operate under unscientific and unhealthy conditions, further contributing to polluting the environment. The book emphasizes and examines these challenges, and their solutions, encountered in various sectors of the informal economy, including urban waste pickers, small-scale farmers, informal workers, home-based workers, street vendors, and more. If the informal sector is to "Leave no one behind" (as the Sustainable Development Goals promise) and contribute to "inclusive growth" (an objective of the green economy), then its impact on the economy as well as the environment has to be carefully considered. This book marks a significant contribution to the literature on both the informal economy and sustainable development, and will be of great interest to readers in economics, geography, politics, environment studies and public policy more broadly. Chapter 4 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Development Centre Studies Is Informal Normal ? Towards More and Better Jobs in Developing Countries

Development Centre Studies Is Informal Normal ? Towards More and Better Jobs in Developing Countries PDF Author: Jütting Johannes
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264059245
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
Provides evidence for policy makers on how to deal with informal employment in developing and developed countries alike.

The Informal Sector as an Integral Part of the National Economy

The Informal Sector as an Integral Part of the National Economy PDF Author: Foreningen af Udviklingsforskere i Danmark, FAU.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description


Towards Better Work

Towards Better Work PDF Author: A. Rossi
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137377542
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Globalization of production has created opportunities and challenges for developing country producers and workers. This volume provides solutions-oriented approaches for promoting improved working conditions and labour rights in the apparel industry.

Megacity Yangon

Megacity Yangon PDF Author: Frauke Kraas
Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster
ISBN: 9783825800420
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Megacities are new urban phenomena, results of globalisation and subject to as well as motors of global ecological, socio-economic, and political change. New are the dimensions of growth, concentrations of population, infrastructure, economic power and decisions - and the simultaneous, self-energising acceleration processes of development. But one must be wary of generalised statements since differences of economic performance, social coherence, infrastructure conditions and governance structures should not be ignored: This publication aims at analysing current transformation processes of Yangon/Myanmar, as spearhead of national development, bridge to Southeast Asia and the world.