COVID-19 and informal work in 11 cities: recovery pathways amidst continued crisis
- Alfers, Laura C, Braham, Christy, Chen, Martha A, Grapsa, Erofili, Harvey, Jenna, Ismail, Ghida, Ogando, Ana C, Reed, Sarah O, Roever, Sally, Rogan, Michael, Sinha, Shalini, Skinner, Caroline, Valdivia, Marcela
- Authors: Alfers, Laura C , Braham, Christy , Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Harvey, Jenna , Ismail, Ghida , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally , Rogan, Michael , Sinha, Shalini , Skinner, Caroline , Valdivia, Marcela
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473850 , vital:77687 , https://www.wiego.org/publications/covid-19-and-informal-work-11-cities-recovery-pathways-amidst-continued-crisis
- Description: The majority of the global workforce–61%–is informal and has been disproportionately impacted by measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and by the accompanying economic down-turn. The focus on aggregate job and livelihood losses masks the multiple drivers behind these losses that are leaving labour mar-kets in general, but particularly in developing countries, without a viable path to recovery. The global informal workforce is diverse, and understanding experiences of workers in different contexts and sectors is required to design effective recovery policies. This Working Paper reflects the findings from the longitudinal study of nearly 2,000 informal workers in 11 cities around the world. Sur-veys and in-depth interviews were conducted with domestic workers, home-based workers, street vendors and market traders, and waste pickers in mid-2020 and then again in mid-2021. The findings reveal the differentiated pathways of impact and thus re-covery for different groups of informal workers approximately a year and a half into the pandemic. The study shows that the eco-nomic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis remains deep and persistent for workers at the base of the economy. Key findings include: Earnings for informal workers interviewed are still far below their pre-pandemic levels. Most respondents have not fully recovered their ability to work. By mid-2021, the typical worker was only earning 64% of her/his pre-COVID-19 earnings. In addition, the average number of days worked per week was only four in mid-2021, still considerably lower than the 5.5-day average in the pre-pandemic period.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Alfers, Laura C , Braham, Christy , Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Harvey, Jenna , Ismail, Ghida , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally , Rogan, Michael , Sinha, Shalini , Skinner, Caroline , Valdivia, Marcela
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473850 , vital:77687 , https://www.wiego.org/publications/covid-19-and-informal-work-11-cities-recovery-pathways-amidst-continued-crisis
- Description: The majority of the global workforce–61%–is informal and has been disproportionately impacted by measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and by the accompanying economic down-turn. The focus on aggregate job and livelihood losses masks the multiple drivers behind these losses that are leaving labour mar-kets in general, but particularly in developing countries, without a viable path to recovery. The global informal workforce is diverse, and understanding experiences of workers in different contexts and sectors is required to design effective recovery policies. This Working Paper reflects the findings from the longitudinal study of nearly 2,000 informal workers in 11 cities around the world. Sur-veys and in-depth interviews were conducted with domestic workers, home-based workers, street vendors and market traders, and waste pickers in mid-2020 and then again in mid-2021. The findings reveal the differentiated pathways of impact and thus re-covery for different groups of informal workers approximately a year and a half into the pandemic. The study shows that the eco-nomic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis remains deep and persistent for workers at the base of the economy. Key findings include: Earnings for informal workers interviewed are still far below their pre-pandemic levels. Most respondents have not fully recovered their ability to work. By mid-2021, the typical worker was only earning 64% of her/his pre-COVID-19 earnings. In addition, the average number of days worked per week was only four in mid-2021, still considerably lower than the 5.5-day average in the pre-pandemic period.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
COVID-19 and informal work: Degrees and pathways of impact in 11 cities around the world
- Chen, Martha A, Grapsa, Erofili, Ismail, Ghida, Reed, Sarah O, Rogan, Michael, Valdivia, Marcela
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Reed, Sarah O , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478150 , vital:78159 , ISBN 978-92-9267-176-1 , doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2022/176-1
- Description: This paper presents findings from two rounds (2020 and 2021) of a study on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on informal workers in 11 cities across five regions of the world (Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and North America). The study, carried out by the WIEGO network in partnership with local organizations of informal workers in each city, included a survey questionnaire and key informant interviews, both conducted by phone. The study findings confirm that the pandemic recession severely undermined the livelihoods of informal workers with limited recovery by mid-2021. The study also examined the degree-and pathways-of impact between, and within, different sectors of informal workers and provides insights and demands from informal workers in their own words.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Reed, Sarah O , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478150 , vital:78159 , ISBN 978-92-9267-176-1 , doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2022/176-1
- Description: This paper presents findings from two rounds (2020 and 2021) of a study on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on informal workers in 11 cities across five regions of the world (Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and North America). The study, carried out by the WIEGO network in partnership with local organizations of informal workers in each city, included a survey questionnaire and key informant interviews, both conducted by phone. The study findings confirm that the pandemic recession severely undermined the livelihoods of informal workers with limited recovery by mid-2021. The study also examined the degree-and pathways-of impact between, and within, different sectors of informal workers and provides insights and demands from informal workers in their own words.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
COVID-19 and informal work: Evidence from 11 cities
- Chen, Martha A, Grapsa, Erofili, Ismail, Ghida, Rogan, Michael, Valdivia, Marcela, Alfers, Laura C, Harvey, Jenna, Ogando, Ana C, Reed, Sarah O, Roever, Sally
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela , Alfers, Laura C , Harvey, Jenna , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473839 , vital:77686 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12221
- Description: This article presents the findings for 11 cities across five geographical regions from a study led by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, investigating the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on different groups of informal workers and their households. Detailing impacts on work and income, food and hunger, care and other household responsibilities, and on the coping strategies of informal worker households, the article also compares the roles of government and informal worker organizations in providing relief and other support. Based on worker demands, the authors present guiding principles for a better deal for informal workers going forward.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela , Alfers, Laura C , Harvey, Jenna , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473839 , vital:77686 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12221
- Description: This article presents the findings for 11 cities across five geographical regions from a study led by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, investigating the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on different groups of informal workers and their households. Detailing impacts on work and income, food and hunger, care and other household responsibilities, and on the coping strategies of informal worker households, the article also compares the roles of government and informal worker organizations in providing relief and other support. Based on worker demands, the authors present guiding principles for a better deal for informal workers going forward.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
COVID-19 et travail informel: les enseignements d'une étude sur la situation dans onze grandes villes
- Chen, Martha A, Grapsa, Erofili, Ismail, Ghida, Rogan, Michael, Valdivia, Marcela, Alfers, Laura C, Harvey, Jenna, Ogando, Ana C, Reed, Sarah O, Roever, Sally
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela , Alfers, Laura C , Harvey, Jenna , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: French
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473861 , vital:77688 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrf.12230
- Description: Les auteurs présentent les conclusions d'une étude dirigée par le réseau Femmes dans l'emploi informel: globalisation et organisation (WIEGO) sur les effets de la crise du COVID‐19 sur les travailleurs informels. L'analyse porte sur quatre professions et onze grandes villes de cinq régions. Il y est question du travail et des revenus, de l'accès à l'alimentation et de la faim, des responsabilités familiales et domestiques, ainsi que des stratégies d'adaptation des ménages. Les auteurs évoquent également les mesures de soutien proposées par les gouvernements et les organisations de travailleurs informels. Enfin, ils énoncent une série de principes devant guider l'action en faveur de ce groupe.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela , Alfers, Laura C , Harvey, Jenna , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: French
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473861 , vital:77688 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrf.12230
- Description: Les auteurs présentent les conclusions d'une étude dirigée par le réseau Femmes dans l'emploi informel: globalisation et organisation (WIEGO) sur les effets de la crise du COVID‐19 sur les travailleurs informels. L'analyse porte sur quatre professions et onze grandes villes de cinq régions. Il y est question du travail et des revenus, de l'accès à l'alimentation et de la faim, des responsabilités familiales et domestiques, ainsi que des stratégies d'adaptation des ménages. Les auteurs évoquent également les mesures de soutien proposées par les gouvernements et les organisations de travailleurs informels. Enfin, ils énoncent une série de principes devant guider l'action en faveur de ce groupe.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
COVID-19 y trabajo informal: evidencia de once ciudades
- Chen, Martha A, Grapsa, Erofili, Ismail, Ghida, Rogan, Michael, Valdivia, Marcela, Alfers, Laura C, Harvey, Jenna, Ogando, Ana C, Reed, Sarah O, Roever, Sally
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela , Alfers, Laura C , Harvey, Jenna , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: French
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473872 , vital:77689 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrs.12231
- Description: Se presentan las conclusiones de un estudio dirigido por la red Mujeres en Empleo Informal: Globalizando y Organizando (WIEGO), en el que se investigan las repercusiones de la crisis de la COVID‐19 en diferentes grupos de personas trabajadoras informales y en sus hogares en términos de empleo, ingresos, alimentación y hambre, cuidado y otras responsabilidades domésticas, así como las estrategias de afrontamiento de estas personas. Se comparan los roles de los gobiernos y de las organizaciones de personas trabajadoras informales en la prestación de diversas ayudas. Basándose en las reivindicaciones de estas personas, se plantean principios rectores para mejorar su situación en el futuro.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Chen, Martha A , Grapsa, Erofili , Ismail, Ghida , Rogan, Michael , Valdivia, Marcela , Alfers, Laura C , Harvey, Jenna , Ogando, Ana C , Reed, Sarah O , Roever, Sally
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: French
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473872 , vital:77689 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrs.12231
- Description: Se presentan las conclusiones de un estudio dirigido por la red Mujeres en Empleo Informal: Globalizando y Organizando (WIEGO), en el que se investigan las repercusiones de la crisis de la COVID‐19 en diferentes grupos de personas trabajadoras informales y en sus hogares en términos de empleo, ingresos, alimentación y hambre, cuidado y otras responsabilidades domésticas, así como las estrategias de afrontamiento de estas personas. Se comparan los roles de los gobiernos y de las organizaciones de personas trabajadoras informales en la prestación de diversas ayudas. Basándose en las reivindicaciones de estas personas, se plantean principios rectores para mejorar su situación en el futuro.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
Effets de la pandémie de COVID-19 et du travail de soins non rémunéré sur les moyens d'existence des travailleurs informels
- Ogando, Ana C, Rogan, Michael, Moussié, Rachel
- Authors: Ogando, Ana C , Rogan, Michael , Moussié, Rachel
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: French
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473894 , vital:77691 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrf.12239
- Description: Avec la pandémie de COVID‐19, la crise sanitaire et économique s'est doublée d'une crise du travail de soins. Tous les travailleurs en ont pâti, y compris dans l'économie informelle. Les auteurs exploitent les résultats d'une étude longitudinale menée par le réseau WIEGO en juin‐juillet 2020 auprès de travailleurs informels de douze villes. Ils observent que la crise a accru la charge du travail de soins, avec des conséquences sur les moyens d'existence et la sécurité alimentaire. L'analyse sexospécifique de l'activité professionnelle et du travail de soins non rémunéré permet de comprendre les répercussions particulières de la crise sur les travailleurs informels dans le monde.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Ogando, Ana C , Rogan, Michael , Moussié, Rachel
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: French
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/473894 , vital:77691 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrf.12239
- Description: Avec la pandémie de COVID‐19, la crise sanitaire et économique s'est doublée d'une crise du travail de soins. Tous les travailleurs en ont pâti, y compris dans l'économie informelle. Les auteurs exploitent les résultats d'une étude longitudinale menée par le réseau WIEGO en juin‐juillet 2020 auprès de travailleurs informels de douze villes. Ils observent que la crise a accru la charge du travail de soins, avec des conséquences sur les moyens d'existence et la sécurité alimentaire. L'analyse sexospécifique de l'activité professionnelle et du travail de soins non rémunéré permet de comprendre les répercussions particulières de la crise sur les travailleurs informels dans le monde.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and unpaid care work on informal workers' livelihoods
- Ogando, Ana C, Rogan, Michael, Moussié, Rachel
- Authors: Ogando, Ana C , Rogan, Michael , Moussié, Rachel
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/477908 , vital:78135 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12332
- Description: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a health, economic and care crisis affecting all workers, including those in the informal economy. This article uses data from the first round of a mixed‐methods longitudinal study conducted in June/July 2020 by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing in partnership with informal workers' organizations in 12 cities. It assesses the impacts of the multidimensional crisis on care responsibilities and the resulting effects on livelihoods and food security. A gendered analysis of paid work and unpaid care work sheds light on the unique features of the impacts of the current “pandemic recession” on the world's informal labour force.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Ogando, Ana C , Rogan, Michael , Moussié, Rachel
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/477908 , vital:78135 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12332
- Description: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a health, economic and care crisis affecting all workers, including those in the informal economy. This article uses data from the first round of a mixed‐methods longitudinal study conducted in June/July 2020 by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing in partnership with informal workers' organizations in 12 cities. It assesses the impacts of the multidimensional crisis on care responsibilities and the resulting effects on livelihoods and food security. A gendered analysis of paid work and unpaid care work sheds light on the unique features of the impacts of the current “pandemic recession” on the world's informal labour force.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
Measuring human capital in South Africa using a socioeconomic status human capital index approach
- Friderichs, Tamaryn J, Keeton, Gavin R, Rogan, Michael
- Authors: Friderichs, Tamaryn J , Keeton, Gavin R , Rogan, Michael
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/477962 , vital:78141 , https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2021.1941779
- Description: The Human Capital Index (HCI) developed by the [World Bank, 2018a. The human capital project. World Bank. https://hdl.handle.net/10986/30498 Accessed 26 February 2019] provides a measure which can be used to study human capital (HC) productivity gaps between countries. The HCI uses measures of survival, education and health to estimate, at a country level, the HC ‘a child born today can expect to attain by her/his 18th birthday, given the risks of poor health and poor education where she lives’ [World Bank, 2018a. The human capital project. World Bank. https://hdl.handle.net/10986/30498 Accessed 26 February 2019, 2]. The socioeconomic disaggregated human capital index (SES-HCI), an extension of the HCI, provides a means for analysing HC inequalities within countries. This study estimates SES-HCIs for South Africa by income quintiles, school quintiles, geographical area, gender and race. The main driver of HC inequalities in all the SES indicators is found to be the quality of schooling. Factors to address the inequalities and the limitations of the measuring instruments are identified.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Friderichs, Tamaryn J , Keeton, Gavin R , Rogan, Michael
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/477962 , vital:78141 , https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2021.1941779
- Description: The Human Capital Index (HCI) developed by the [World Bank, 2018a. The human capital project. World Bank. https://hdl.handle.net/10986/30498 Accessed 26 February 2019] provides a measure which can be used to study human capital (HC) productivity gaps between countries. The HCI uses measures of survival, education and health to estimate, at a country level, the HC ‘a child born today can expect to attain by her/his 18th birthday, given the risks of poor health and poor education where she lives’ [World Bank, 2018a. The human capital project. World Bank. https://hdl.handle.net/10986/30498 Accessed 26 February 2019, 2]. The socioeconomic disaggregated human capital index (SES-HCI), an extension of the HCI, provides a means for analysing HC inequalities within countries. This study estimates SES-HCIs for South Africa by income quintiles, school quintiles, geographical area, gender and race. The main driver of HC inequalities in all the SES indicators is found to be the quality of schooling. Factors to address the inequalities and the limitations of the measuring instruments are identified.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
Repercusiones de la pandemia de COVID‐19 y del trabajo de cuidados no remunerado en los medios de vida de las trabajadoras y trabajadores informales
- Ogando, Ana C, Rogan, Michael, Moussié, Rachel
- Authors: Ogando, Ana C , Rogan, Michael , Moussié, Rachel
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: Spanish
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/477996 , vital:78145 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrs.12240
- Description: Con datos de la primera ronda de un estudio longitudinal con métodos mixtos realizado en junio y julio de 2020 por la red WIEGO en colaboración con organizaciones de personas trabajadoras informales de doce ciudades, se evalúa el impacto de la actual crisis pandémica multidimensional (sanitaria, económica y de cuidados) en las responsabilidades de cuidado y el efecto resultante en los medios de vida y la seguridad alimentaria de personas trabajadoras informales de cuatro sectores. Un análisis de género del trabajo remunerado y del trabajo de cuidados no remunerado arroja luz sobre las características únicas del impacto de la actual recesión pandémica en la fuerza de trabajo informal del mundo.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Ogando, Ana C , Rogan, Michael , Moussié, Rachel
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: Spanish
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/477996 , vital:78145 , https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrs.12240
- Description: Con datos de la primera ronda de un estudio longitudinal con métodos mixtos realizado en junio y julio de 2020 por la red WIEGO en colaboración con organizaciones de personas trabajadoras informales de doce ciudades, se evalúa el impacto de la actual crisis pandémica multidimensional (sanitaria, económica y de cuidados) en las responsabilidades de cuidado y el efecto resultante en los medios de vida y la seguridad alimentaria de personas trabajadoras informales de cuatro sectores. Un análisis de género del trabajo remunerado y del trabajo de cuidados no remunerado arroja luz sobre las características únicas del impacto de la actual recesión pandémica en la fuerza de trabajo informal del mundo.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
Taxation and the informal sector in the Global South: Strengthening the social contract without reciprocity
- Authors: Rogan, Michael
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478029 , vital:78148 , ISBN 9781839108068 , https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839108068.00011
- Description: Among both international financial institutions and developing country governments, there is an enduring interest in including more informal sector workers within national and local tax nets. The motivation for taxing the informal economy is related, in large part, to the need for greater ‘revenue mobilisation’but there is also a claim that taxation can improve or restore the social contract through greater government accountability and civic engagement (Prichard 2010, Kundt 2017). Supported by emerging perspectives within the ‘new fiscal sociology’1 there is a growing consensus that taxation is the social contract and that negotiation and collective action around tax obligations are the key defining relationship between the state and society. However, others, most notably Kate Meagher (2016), have warned that these perspectives have a number of ‘blind spots’ in relation to developing countries, more broadly, and the informal sector2 in particular. These include: a ‘Euro-centric’conceptualisation of the social contract, a narrow focus on traditional (northern) forms of taxation and a tendency to understand the informal economy as a homogenous group of workers (Meagher 2016). With 61 per cent of the world’s workers informally employed, including 67 per cent of those in emerging economies and 90 per cent in developing countries (ILO 2018), these blind spots have a particular relevance for the social contract, political participation, governance and accountability, especially in the countries of the global South.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Rogan, Michael
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478029 , vital:78148 , ISBN 9781839108068 , https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839108068.00011
- Description: Among both international financial institutions and developing country governments, there is an enduring interest in including more informal sector workers within national and local tax nets. The motivation for taxing the informal economy is related, in large part, to the need for greater ‘revenue mobilisation’but there is also a claim that taxation can improve or restore the social contract through greater government accountability and civic engagement (Prichard 2010, Kundt 2017). Supported by emerging perspectives within the ‘new fiscal sociology’1 there is a growing consensus that taxation is the social contract and that negotiation and collective action around tax obligations are the key defining relationship between the state and society. However, others, most notably Kate Meagher (2016), have warned that these perspectives have a number of ‘blind spots’ in relation to developing countries, more broadly, and the informal sector2 in particular. These include: a ‘Euro-centric’conceptualisation of the social contract, a narrow focus on traditional (northern) forms of taxation and a tendency to understand the informal economy as a homogenous group of workers (Meagher 2016). With 61 per cent of the world’s workers informally employed, including 67 per cent of those in emerging economies and 90 per cent in developing countries (ILO 2018), these blind spots have a particular relevance for the social contract, political participation, governance and accountability, especially in the countries of the global South.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
The COVID-19 crisis and the South African informal economy: A stalled recovery
- Rogan, Michael, Skinner, Caroline
- Authors: Rogan, Michael , Skinner, Caroline
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478161 , vital:78160 , ISBN 978-92-9267-171-6 , doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2022/171-6
- Description: This paper seeks to identify the differentiated impacts of the crisis on specific groups of informal workers. The analysis draws on official nationally representative labour force surveys collected quarterly by South Africa's national statistical agency (Statistics South Africa). Based on an analysis of six quarters of labour market data (with the first quarter of 2020 as the 'pre-COVID' baseline), the paper aims to identify the labour market impacts of the first three waves of the pandemic and of one of the world's strictest 'lockdowns' (as it was described at the time-in April 2020). In investigating the contours of the pandemic's impact on the South African informal economy, the paper focuses, in particular, on the different impacts by gender, sector, and status in employment. The findings show that both relative and absolute job losses have been greater in the informal economy, while the rate and level of recovery have been greater for formal employment. Further, the data suggest uneven impacts within the informal economy with women informal workers, those working in the informal sector and those in retail and community and social services being particularly hard hit. The pandemic period has thus widened pre-existing inequalities and fault lines. In policy terms, this suggests that the informal economy should be a priority in economic recovery efforts but also that support requires differentiated approaches and a range of measures
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022
- Authors: Rogan, Michael , Skinner, Caroline
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478161 , vital:78160 , ISBN 978-92-9267-171-6 , doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2022/171-6
- Description: This paper seeks to identify the differentiated impacts of the crisis on specific groups of informal workers. The analysis draws on official nationally representative labour force surveys collected quarterly by South Africa's national statistical agency (Statistics South Africa). Based on an analysis of six quarters of labour market data (with the first quarter of 2020 as the 'pre-COVID' baseline), the paper aims to identify the labour market impacts of the first three waves of the pandemic and of one of the world's strictest 'lockdowns' (as it was described at the time-in April 2020). In investigating the contours of the pandemic's impact on the South African informal economy, the paper focuses, in particular, on the different impacts by gender, sector, and status in employment. The findings show that both relative and absolute job losses have been greater in the informal economy, while the rate and level of recovery have been greater for formal employment. Further, the data suggest uneven impacts within the informal economy with women informal workers, those working in the informal sector and those in retail and community and social services being particularly hard hit. The pandemic period has thus widened pre-existing inequalities and fault lines. In policy terms, this suggests that the informal economy should be a priority in economic recovery efforts but also that support requires differentiated approaches and a range of measures
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- Date Issued: 2022
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