Rethinking Informalization: Poverty, Precarious Jobs and Social Protection

This peer-reviewed book contains revised papers initially presented at the conference, "Rethinking Informalization in Labor Markets," which took place at Cornell University in October 2002.Globalization, deep economic restructuring, and neoliberal policies have transformed the world of work and labor markets in the North and the South. Contrary to expectations of those who studied the "informal sector" in the 1970s and 80s, the informal economy keeps expanding. This collection brings together an interdisciplinary group of researchers and activists to rethink informalization and the world of work. Together they explore the processes and reasons behind the growth of informal activities and the possibilities for generating decent work and equitable labor markets under the present conditions. Rethinking Informalization includes papers that examine the heterogeneity of informal activities, the processes that generate its growth, and the lack of concern over increasing economic and social inequalities. Some contributions focus on the need to rethink social protections for labor and the generation of decent work. Others focus on the linkages between informality and poverty, and the final essay focuses on the impacts of informality on the segmentation of urban space and politics. The volume will be of interest to anyone concerned with the continued growth and dynamism of the informal economy, as well as its pernicious effects on workers lives everywhere

Labor market informalization and social policy: distributional links and the case of homebased workers

This paper is based on the notion that the nature of current labor market informalization requires rethinking in order to guide action and formulate social policies for eliminating poverty and reducing economic inequality and job insecurity. It explores conceptually and empirically the dynamics of informality and demonstrates the interconnectedness of job precariousness, vulnerability and gender relations.There are five related aspects to this process of informalization that are explored in the conceptual framework namely: 1) increasing labor market flexibilization; 2) the weakening (even absence) of the labor contract; 3) rising income inequality and worker differentiation; 4) institutional questions related to ownership and appropriation of production; and 5) gender-related socially ascribed positions in society and within the household. The empirical section is based on the 2002 sample survey data of poor urban households engaged in home-based work collected in Bolivia and Ecuador as part of a four-country research project that attempts to understand the roles of financial and labor resources in the coping strategies of urban poor households as their countries undergo rapid global market integration, financial crises and economic restructuring. Using employment and decisionmaking information on heads and spouses in the Bolivian and Ecuador sample data, the empirical investigation provides a gendered analysis of the informalization of employment among men and women respondents in couples (or dual adults) households to highlight the interconnectedness of job precariousness and gendered relations. Specifically, we adopt a gendered approach in examining the link between gender-based roles and relations with worker vulnerability. The findings in the study points to the importance of rethinking social protection program for workers laboring in informalized settings. It concludes with a discussion of lthe different possible avenues for action to dealing with poverty and redressing regressive tendencies in the distribution of income and resources in the informal economy

The Crisis of Care, International Migration and the Capabilities Approach: Implications for Policy

Focusing on what in Europe has come to be called “reconciliation policies” –or policies to balance family and labor market work—this paper poses the question of whether some of the legislative efforts introduced in Europe during the past decade can be applied to Latin American countries. The paper argues that there are differences between Northern and Southern countries in this respect, and it focuses mostly on two of them –the extent of the informal economy and international migration—which make this application difficult. Using the capabilities approach framework, the paper outlines other lines of action for public policy that can be useful to design reconciliation policies for the South. Finally, the paper argues that this type of policies represents an urgent issue whose time has come in order to rethink gender equity within the emerging new gender order across countries