The Informal Economy in Cities of the Global South: Challenges to the Planning Lexicon

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Caroline Skinner ◽  
Vanessa Watson
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Global South

Informal street vending: a comparative literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Recchi
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Global South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Street Vending ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Global North ◽  
The One

PurposeInformal street vending is traditionally widespread and studied concerning developing countries. Nevertheless, recently, interest in the study of this practice has also increased regarding specific developed countries. The aim of the article is to contribute to overcoming the tendency to investigate this informal economy sector with different analytical lenses between the global South and global North and to highlight the usefulness of analyzing the phenomenon from a comparative perspective.Design/methodology/approachTherefore, the article represents a comparative review of the existing literature on informal street vending considering both the global South and global North.FindingsThe analysis revealed similarities and differences in the characteristics the phenomenon assumes in the two areas of the world while at the same time, showing how there are aspects mainly explored in the literature of southern countries and little explored in the literature of northern countries and vice-versa.Research limitations/implicationsThis analytical attempt allows us to highlight any gaps present in the literature, which may represent the basis for future comparative research on the topic. Comparative research will improve both theoretical and empirical knowledge of the phenomenon.Originality/valueOn the one hand, the article represents an innovative literature review attempt, as it explicitly compares the street vending between developing and developed countries. On the other hand, it represents the first academic contribution to review street vending in the global North.

Precarity and Development: Production and Labor Processes in the Informal Economy in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snehashish Bhattacharya ◽  
Surbhi Kesar
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Global South ◽  
Wage Labor ◽  
Capitalist Development ◽  
Commodity Production ◽  
Global North

We take off from the recent critiques of precarity as an emerging global phenomenon to argue that the processes of precarity in the Global North and the Global South need to be analytically distinguished to bring forth their specificities. We further argue that such an analysis challenges the idea of development as transition, as is prevalent in much of the literature. We focus on the informal economy in India to show that the notion of precarity conceptually involves three distinct aspects of production and labor processes—“non-capitalist” petty commodity production (PCP), subcontracted PCP, and informal wage-labor. We argue that these dimensions have their own particularities that have distinct implications for the process of capitalist development in India. We contend that reproduction of these informal spaces during a period of high economic growth unsettles the imaginary of development as transition.

scholarly journals Waste pickers in the informal economy of the Global South: included or excluded?

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 280-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Coletto ◽  
Lieselot Bisschop
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Global South ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Qualitative Case Studies ◽  
Waste Pickers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the role and practices of informal waste pickers and the implications for waste management policy in urban contexts of the Global South. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative case studies were used, including interviews, observations and document analyses. The authors compared informal waste management in two cities of the Global South: Accra (Ghana) and Porto Alegre (Brazil). Findings The analysis points out that informal waste pickers play a crucial role in the implementation of waste policies in both cities, despite differing economic, social and institutional contexts. The study of the waste management system also points to multiple connections between informal and formal parts of the economy. Although the informal waste pickers are integral to the waste management systems, their economically disadvantaged position excludes them from the formal labour market. Faced with these challenges, they develop creative solutions to guarantee their livelihood and gain more effective collective voice. Research limitations/implications The comparison of two case studies, conducted about the same social phenomenon in two different economic, institutional and social contexts, has limited generalisability but is theoretically and practically important. Practical implications The findings are relevant to policy-makers who deal with urban waste management and for organisations who develop support actions for informal workers. Originality/value The authors draw on a comparison of qualitative case studies to explore the multidimensionality of the waste picker’s phenomenon. This paper sparks discussion among scholars and experts who study the informal economy from different perspectives, in this case bridging insights from sociology and victimology.

Global Green New Deal: A Global South perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-189
Author(s):  
Ying Chen ◽  
An Li
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
New Deal ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Global South ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Green Jobs ◽  
Employment Share ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Global North ◽  
Informal Structure

Most proposed solutions in the Global Green New Deal literature involve finance and technology transfers to address the imbalance between the Global North and Global South, while providing little discussion of the internal socioeconomic structures within countries in the Global South. This article uses China as a case study to show that without addressing the issue of domestic informality, the potential benefits of a Global Green New Deal are less likely to be fully realised in the Global South. We use the Input-Output method and our originally constructed data on formal and informal employment to calculate the informal employment share in two exemplary renewable energy sectors: solar and wind. We find that more than half of the jobs created in the solar and wind energy sectors, with a given level of spending, will be in the informal economy, and hence are associated with low wages and little social welfare protection. The results imply that, without addressing informality, both renewable energy sectors perpetuate the informal structure in the broader economy. We also question the capitalist nature of ‘green jobs’ created by the Green New Deal. Based on the results, we call for a more organic integration of a Global South perspective in the studies of a Global Green New Deal. JEL Codes: Q01, E26, N55

scholarly journals Future Planning of Global South Cities with Inclusive Informal Economic Growth in Perspective

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Aghaegbunam Onodugo ◽  
Nkeiru Hope Ezeadichie
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Global South ◽  
Planning Systems ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Future Planning ◽  
The Future ◽  
Planning Approaches

Current urbanization trends and projections clearly indicate that the global South cities, especially of Asia and Africa, would be at the receiving end of about 80% of the expected 2.7 billion increase in urban population between 2010 and 2050. These trends and projections make it imperative for the future planning of the global South cities to step out of the box, away from the traditional planning systems, and begin to adopt inclusive and innovative planning approaches that would efficiently tackle the current and emerging urban realities in these cities rather than sticking to rigid planning standards that ignore realities, generate continuous conflict, and fail to take advantage of the potentials of these urbanization consequences, especially the resilient informal economy. The chapter examines the urbanization trends and one of its major challenges in global South cities; informal economic activities, the planning implications of these informal economic activities, various approaches that have been adopted by different governments and the effectiveness or otherwise of the approaches in tackling the challenges of informal economy. The chapter also focuses on the successful planning approaches that have been implemented with a view to portraying the key lessons that can ensure its applicability in other global South cities facing similar challenges.

scholarly journals Migrant Waste Collectors in Thailand’s Informal Economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Global South ◽  
Primitive Accumulation ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Relational Embeddedness ◽  
Informal Labour ◽  
Formal Employment ◽  
Informal Relations ◽  
Point Of Departure

Abstract Recent scholarship on primitive accumulation and deagrarianisation in the global South has addressed a decline in formal employment prospects, leaving most ex-peasants (and their heirs) struggling to earn a livelihood in the informal economy. Taking this phenomenon as a point of departure, and drawing on the case of migrant waste collectors in Mae Sot, Thailand, this article examines the multiple ways that waste collectors are embedded in informal relations of production and exchange. This variable relational embeddedness has implications, it is argued, for the forms of struggle available to those engaged in informal labour.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document