Intergenerational transmission of self-employed status in the informal sector: a constrained choice or better income prospects? Evidence from seven West-African countries

Abstract Social reproduction is the highest for self-employed as shown by an extensive literature from developed and developing countries. Very few studies however document the reason for this high intergenerational correlation of the self-employed status. The rare studies that have been done concern the US and show that children of self-employed benefit from an advantage when they are themselves self-employed. The purpose of this paper is to test in the African context if the second-generation of self-employed has an advantage related to the first-generation. It aims at highlighting the debate between two visions: the first of informal sector as the less-advantaged sector of a dualistic labour market, and the second as a sector of personal choice and dynamic entrepreneurship. Using 1-2-3 surveys collected in the commercial capitals of seven West African countries in 2001-2002, this paper shows that the second-generation of informal self-employed does not have better outcomes than the first one, except when they choose a familial tradition in the same sector of activity. Thus, in the African context, having a self-employed father does not provide any advantage in terms of profit or sales and is not sufficient for the transmission of a valuable informal human capital. On the other hand, informal entrepreneurs who have chosen a specific enterprise based on familial tradition have a comparative advantage. Their comparative advantage is partly explained by the transmission of enterprise-specific human capital, acquired thanks to experiences in the same type of activity and by the transmission of social capital that guarantees a better clientele and a reputation. --informal sector,entrepreneurship,intergenerational link

Intergenerational transmission of self-employed status in the informal sector : a constrained choice or better income propects ? : evidence from seven West-African countries

Abstract Social reproduction is the highest for self-employed as shown by an extensive literature from developed and developing countries. Very few studies however document the reason for this high intergenerational correlation of the self-employed status. The rare studies that have been done concern the US and show that children of self-employed benefit from an advantage when they are themselves self-employed. The purpose of this paper is to test in the African context if the second-generation of self-employed has an advantage related to the first-generation. It aims at highlighting the debate between two visions: the first of informal sector as the less-advantaged sector of a dualistic labour market, and the second as a sector of personal choice and dynamic entrepreneurship. Using 1-2-3 surveys collected in the commercial capitals of seven West African countries in 2001-2002, this paper shows that the second-generation of informal self-employed does not have better outcomes than the first one, except when they choose a familial tradition in the same sector of activity. Thus, in the African context, having a self-employed father does not provide any advantage in terms of profit or sales and is not sufficient for the transmission of a valuable informal human capital. On the other hand, informal entrepreneurs who have chosen a specific enterprise based on familial tradition have a comparative advantage. Their comparative advantage is partly explained by the transmission of enterprise-specific human capital, acquired thanks to experiences in the same type of activity and by the transmission of social capital that guarantees a better clientele and a reputation

Perception de l’inégalité des chances et mobilités objective et subjective au Pérou.

L’objet de cet article est de comprendre comment se forme la perception des habitants de Lima de l’inégalité des chances au Pérou, à partir d’entretiens qualitatifs. Il s’agit d’apporter une contribution au débat normatif sur la justice sociale, puisque selon plusieurs auteurs, la perception de l’inégalité des chances détermine fortement la demande de redistribution. J’analyse en particulier le rôle joué par la mobilité individuelle dans la formation de cette perception, en mesurant la mobilité à partir d’indicateurs objectifs mais également subjectifs.The object of this paper is to understand how the perception by Limenians of inequalities of opportunity is formed in Peru, based on qualitative interviews realized by the author. It aims to contribute to the normative debate on social justice ; as according to several authors, the perception of inequality of opportunity strongly determines the demand for redistribution. A special focus is put to the role played by individual mobility in the formation of this perception, by measuring this mobility from both objective and subjective indicators.Peru; circumstances; mobility; Inequality of opportunity; Pérou; circonstances; Inégalité des chances; mobilité; efforts;

Transitions in a West African labour market : the role of social networks

Dans cet article, nous analysons le rôle des réseaux sociaux dans la dynamique d'un marché du travail en Afrique de l'Ouest, en nous intéressant aux transitions du chômage vers l'emploi, de l'emploi salarié vers l’emploi indépendant et enfin de l’emploi indépendant vers l’emploi salarié. Les données d’une enquête originale que nous utilisons permettent d’appréhender les réseaux sociaux dans trois de leurs dimensions, à savoir sa structure, la force des liens et des ressources intégrées dans le réseau, et d’analyser les effets différenciés de chacune de ces dimensions sur ces transitions. Ces données, collectées à Ouagadougou en 2009, rassemblent les biographies professionnelles de 2000 ménages et sont représentatives à l’échelle de la ville. En nous appuyant sur des modèles de risques proportionnels, nous constatons que les réseaux sociaux ont un effet significatif sur la dynamique des travailleurs et que cet effet diffère selon le type de transition et la dimension considérée du réseau social. La taille du réseau semble joué un rôle mineur au regard des deux autres dimensions. Des liens forts jouent un rôle stabilisateur en limitant les grandes transitions. Leur effet négatif sur les transitions est renforcé quand ces liens forts sont combinés à un niveau élevé de ressources du réseau

La evolución de la movilidad escolar intergeneracional en el Perú a lo largo del siglo XX

El considerable desarrollo del sistema educativo escolar que caracteriza al Perú desde inicios del siglo XX parece sugerir que el acceso a la escuela se ha vuelto más igualitario. En este artículo, se busca investigar si realmente la población en general se ha beneficiado de este desarrollo de la misma manera y si este proceso ha estado acompañado de una igualación de las oportunidades escolares para todos. Para ello, se analiza la evolución de las desigualdades sociales en la escuela a lo largo del siglo XX, estudiando la evolución del vínculo entre el nivel de educación escolar de las personas y su origen cultural. Seguidamente, se examina si el debilitamiento aparente de este vínculo se explica por una mayor igualdad de oportunidades escolares o si no es más que el resultado de la prolongación generalizada de los estudios. Por último, se trata de ver qué políticas públicas podrían llevarse a cabo para aumentar la igualdad de oportunidades educativas. Es relativamente nuevo que esta problemática pueda tratarse en un país en desarrollo, gracias a la base de datos excepcional de que se dispone aquí.Le développement considérable de l’enseignement scolaire qui caractérise le Pérou depuis le début du 20ème siècle suggère que l’accès à l’éducation est devenu plus égalitaire. Dans cet article, je cherche à savoir si réellement le développement a profité à tous de la même manière et s’il s’est accompagné d’une égalisation des opportunités scolaires. Pour cela, j’analyse l’évolution des inégalités sociales devant l’école tout au long du vingtième siècle en étudiant l’évolution du lien entre le niveau d’éducation des personnes et leur origine culturelle. Ensuite, j’examine si le relâchement de ce lien que l’on observe s’explique par une plus forte égalité d’opportunité scolaire ou s’il n’est que le résultat de l’allongement généralisé des études. Enfin, j’étudie quelles politiques publiques pourraient être conduites pour accroître l’égalité des chances devant l’école. L'originalité de cet article est de pouvoir aborder cette problématique pour un pays en développement grâce à la base de données exceptionnelle dont on dispose ici.Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the education system in Peru has known a considerable development. This suggests that in all probabilities opportunities for study should be on a more equal basis. In the present article, I set out to discover whether all social groups have really benefited from the development of school system and whether this development created equal opportunities or not. I there for analyze the evolution of educational inequalities throughout the twentieth century by basing my observations on the evolution of the relationship between the educational level attained and the sociocultural origin of the person. I then examine whether the apparently diminishing importance of this relationship is due to the opening up of a vaster field of equal opportunities or whether the principal factor is the generalized prolongation of studies. Finally, I examine what public policies could be pursued in order to increase equal educational opportunities. This is the first time that thanks to the exceptional quality of the data at our disposal, this issues can be deals with in relationship to a developing country

Weighting deprivations using subjective well-being : an application to the multidimensional child poverty index in Vietnam

Although multidimensional approach to study child poverty has received growing attention, weights of different dimensions in constructing single aggregation indices have not been properly investigated. Using Young Lives data, this study attempts to fill this gap by examining a weight estimation method which takes into account the children’s perspectives. This approach consists of computing analytical weights from estimated parameters of a subjective well-being regression model, where children’s subjective well-being is explained by their achievement in dimensions included in multidimensional poverty indices. By doing so, weights reflect value judgments of children on what is a good life and are not based on a normative approach. Estimation results indicate that revealed preferences of children change overtime and across sub-groups of children. More importantly, this paper demonstrates that children do not give the same value to all dimensions, contrary to what the most common approach to calculate weights is supposing. Children then attach more importance to deprivations such as shelter, water and sanitation deprivations, which impact immediately their well-being than to deprivations which may affect negatively their well-being in the long-term, with the exception of education for some groups of children

The Importance of household business and informal sector for inclusive growth in Vietnam

International audienceThis book draws on an original and innovative data collection to provide new evidence on household businesses and the informal sector in Vietnam. This 2014/15 HB&IS survey conducted in late 2014 and early 2015 is the first national survey ever on this sector in Vietnam with full coverage of its different components. The purpose of this book is threefold. First, it aims at filling the knowledge gap as to the role of household businesses and the informal sector in the Vietnamese economy. Second, it provides new insights for policymakers to unlock household business potential by identifying the factors blocking their performance and productivity. Thirdly, it identifies the sources of worker vulnerability in household businesses and the informal sector to inform the design of a suitable policy to tackle this vulnerability

Vocational education, on-the-job training and labour market integration of young workers in urban West Africa

Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2012 “Youth and skills: Putting education to work”Using surveys covering seven West African economic capitals in the early 2000s, this paper describes the labour market integration of youth with regard to their level of formal education and to the type of vocational training they received. We particularly focus on the informal sector and look at activity rates, unemployment, earnings, job quality and small firm performance in order to identify the key features of youth labour market integration. To our knowledge, these features of Africa’s labour markets are rarely documented at a sectoral level using representative samples of urban areas. The overall results suggest that the youth are the most disadvantaged in terms of unemployment, access to the formal sector, and earnings. We provide some evidence that vocational education might be a good instrument for integrating the formal sector and that it is often more profitable than general education in terms of earnings and firm performance, especially at higher levels of schooling. Generally, education, especially at high levels, provides a substantial growth in earnings in informal jobs in most of the cities studied. Regarding the incidence of vocational education and training (VET), the main form observed is traditional apprenticeship. Overall, young workers without any formal VET are the more disadvantaged in terms of working conditions, while workers who benefited from a traditional apprenticeship in a small firm occupy an intermediate position. Apprenticeship training for young workers seems to be fairly prevalent in the informal sector, but the associated working conditions are bad, and kinship ties seem to be there a crucial channel for training access