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Working Paper
The gender productivity gap: Evidence from the Indian informal sectorWe examine the patterns and correlates of the productivity gap between male-owned and female-owned firms for informal enterprises in India...
Gender Productivity gap IndiaWorking Paper
The informal sector and the safety of female traders in Tanzania: A reflection of practices, policies, and legislationThis paper assesses the participation of female traders, safety factors, and existing policies and legislation in the informal sector in Tanzania...
Informal sector female entrepreneurship TanzaniaWorking Paper
The afterlife of industrial work: Urban-to-rural labour transitions from the factory to the informal economyThe COVID-19 pandemic has escalated processes of labour transition from industrial work to the informal economy, which have always characterized the life of the working poor...
Feminist economics Political economy Social reproductionWorking Paper
Improving young women’s working conditions in Tanzania’s urban food vending sectorIn this paper, we investigate the working conditions of the young women working as assistants in the food vending sector in Tanzania using interviews and focus group discussions which are supplemented with quantitative survey...
Tanzania Working conditions Food retailingWorking Paper
Maternity benefits mandate and women’s choice of work in Viet NamDespite a sizeable literature on the labour market effects of maternity leave regulations on women in developed countries, how these policies affect women’s work in developing countries with a large informal sector remains poorly understood...
Maternity Women's work Informal sectorWorking Paper
Informal employment or informal firms? Regulatory enforcement and the transformation of the informal sectorWhile there is general agreement that regulatory avoidance is an important part of firms’ decisions to produce in the informal sector, there is much less agreement on how regulation and enforcement affect firms’ decisions on, inter alia, ...
Informal sector Regulation SpilloversWorking Paper
Digital technology and productivity of informal enterprises: Empirical evidence from NigeriaThe lingering policy dilemma facing many governments in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years is what can be done in the short to medium term to boost the output and incomes of individuals and enterprises in the informal sector, given the size and persi...
Information technology Informal sector ProductivityWorking Paper
Informal freelancers in the time of COVID-19: Insights from a digital matching platform in MozambiqueDespite the severe negative economic shock associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence from many contexts points to a surge in sales on online platforms, as well as shifts in the composition of demand...
COVID-19 Shocks MozambiqueIn the media
Report on the impact of COVID-19 to Ghana’s labour market hits headlinesA new report from the Transforming informal work and livelihoods project has caught the attention of policy makers and media in Ghana. Researchers from UNU-WIDER and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of...
COVID-19 Informal sector GhanaSeminar
Nandera Mhando and Nasibu Mramba on improving young women’s working conditions in Tanzania’s urban food vending sectorNandera Mhando and Nasibu Mramba gave a presentation on 14 April 2021, as part of the Sustainable development solutions for Tanzania – strengthening research to achieve SDGs project. The presentation was held as a webinar, in collaboration...
Working Paper
What sustains informality?: A study of the interactions between formal- and informal-sector firmsWe consider two vertical links between informal- and formal-sector firms and study their implications...
Informal sector Income distribution Supply and demandWorking Paper
The gendered crisis: livelihoods and mental well-being in India during COVID-19This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the gendered dimensions of employment and mental health among urban informal-sector workers in India...
COVID-19 Informal sector EmploymentWorking Paper
Towards sustainable livelihood in the Tanzanian informal economy: Facilitating inclusion, organization, and rights for street vendorsIn spite of having some intensive national strategies to address poverty, Tanzania lacks a coherent national strategy to ensure sustainable livelihoods for those working in its informal economy, of which street vending is an important sector...
Tanzania Livelihoods Informal sectorWorking Paper
Job quality and labour market transitions: Evidence from Mexican informal and formal workersIn this paper we analyse informal work in Mexico, which accounts for the majority of employment in the country and has grown over time...
Informal work job quality Labour market dynamicsWorking Paper
Transforming informal work and livelihoods in ChinaThe informal sector has long been viewed as a locus of the disadvantaged, unskilled, and inexperienced workers in under-developed and developing economies...
China Informal sector LivelihoodsWorking Paper
Finance, gender, and entrepreneurship: India’s informal sector firmsHow does informal economic activity respond to increased financial inclusion? Does it become more entrepreneurial?...
Entrepreneurship Financial constraints Gender