Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Towards an Integrated Approach to the Informal
Economy: Risk, Gender and Labour Relations
In an attempt to capture the informal sector's gendered and socio-spatial
diversity previously discussed, it can be useful to employ an integrated
approach (Lloyd-Evans, 2008a) which broadly classifies informal work-
ers into four tiers according to their motivations for working informally,
their labour relations, gender and risk, with the added premise that
there will be changes over the life-course (see Figure 3.3.1):
•
subsistence workers
•
small-scale entrepreneurs and traders
•
petty capitalists
•
criminal operators.
First, there is the existence of
high-risk subsistence workers
who tend
to be found in the lowest paid and most insecure jobs in the informal
sector and in unregulated components of the formal sector. The prime
motive of production is subsistence, rather than profit, and the
sub-sector may include homeworkers (both employed and own-account),
domestic labourers, low profit or dependent street vendors, irregular
waged labourers, and unpaid family and child labour. Work is often
arduous, low paid, insecure and risky, and includes occupations like
sweet-drink sellers, garbage pickers and piece-rate producers. Some
workers will have no choice in entering this type of work as they may
lack the education, skills or resources required to access better jobs.
Another unifying characteristic is the extent to which this type of work
is gendered, as a majority of workers in this group will be female.
The second tier comprises a heterogeneous group of
small-scale entre-
preneurs, petty-commodity entrepreneurs, petty-commodity traders,
own-account workers and traders
, who primarily engage in the informal
sector as a livelihood strategy but one that can offer additional benefits in
terms of independence, flexibility, and risk aversion. Small-scale entre-
preneurs may choose to work in this sector in order to meet family respon-
sibilities or utilize a creative talent. Typical workers in this category are
street traders, artisans, informal commercial importers, food sellers and
some home-based producers where the unit of organization is family or
kinship based, with some control over the means of production. Unequal
access to micro-credit, training and infrastructural opportunities can
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