Formal / Informal Linkages in South Africa: Some Considerations
Informal employment in South Africa grew from 965,000 to just over 2.3-million workers between 1997 and 2005, rising from about 10% to 18% of the employed workforce. Notwithstanding the difficulties and debates about data issues, it is widely accepted that informal employment grew rapidly in the late 1990s, and stabilised in the 2000s. In this…
read more >>Informal Employment In South Africa
Employment policy in South Africa has paid limited attention to the informal economy. From the early 1990s, the informal economy grew substantially, and yet still accounts for a small proportion of employment relative to other developing countries. The co-existence of high unemployment and a small informal economy is poorly understood in SA. Valodia explores the…
read more >>Organising Capabilities of Steet Traders Particularly Women
In August 2008, Heads of State of the South African Development Community (SADC) adopted the SADC Gender and Development Protocol aimed at advancing gender equality across all spheres of life. Gender-blind economic policy making in South Africa and elsewhere is responsible for exposing women to low paid and hazardous employment, without income security or protection….
read more >>Formal-Informal Economy Linkages and Unemployment in South Africa
South Africa’s high involuntary unemployment and small informal sector are attributed to an underperforming formal sector and barriers to entry into the informal sector. Davies and Thurlow examine the economy-wide linkages between the formal and informal economies, while accounting for different types of informal activities. A multi-region, empirically calibrated computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is…
read more >>Formal-Informal Economy Linkages
The term informal sector, informal economy, ‘second economy’ and informality is often used interchangeably. Altman defines ‘informality’ to entail precariousness, in that the activity operates beyond bureaucratic rules or regulations. This is an important concept for poor working people. Focusing policy on structural solutions to reduce precariousness in household livelihoods is particularly important in a…
read more >>Informal Traders Survey Questionnaire
This is the Informal Traders Survey, deployed in support of the paper: Exploring Economic Behaviour in South Africa’s Informal Economy. It is provided as a research tool.
read more >>Formal-Informal economy linkages: Some conceptual and empirical issues
This report contributes to a larger project on the competitive behaviour of informal firms in a growing economy. Valodia et al explore the idea of a ‘second economy’. Notwithstanding the conceptual problems associated with the idea of a second economy, its prominence in public policy debates offers a unique space to enhance the linkages between…
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