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The informal economy represents a large segment of the economic activities in emerging economies but still remains a puzzling phenomenon. In particular, research emphasising the organising processes of firms within the informal economy is scant. Weak formal institutions, conflicting institutional centres and large levels of economic inequality contribute to the development of informal entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Yet, an understanding of the links between institutional incongruence and economic exclusion as facilitating mechanisms of informal entrepreneurship remains limited. Furthermore, it is unknown how hybrid organisations, combining institutional logics, emerge and function within the informal economy. Despite a large number of empirical and theoretical studies, there is a lack of understanding about the interplay between the institutional dynamics and the creation of informal institutions developed by informal entrepreneurs. To enhance the understanding of informal entrepreneurship, this PhD thesis explores how institutional entrepreneurs embedded in the informal economy respond to economic inequality. This grounded theory study, based on interviews and participant observations conducted at La Salada, South America's largest black market, conceptualises how institutional entrepreneurs exploit the illegitimacy of formal labour institutions to generate institutional change. This qualitative study has followed a constructivist grounded theory design based on simultaneous data collection and analysis and making systematic comparisons throughout inquiry. In line with grounded theory guidelines, the researcher identified emerging first-order categories and looked-for relations between them, in order to move to a higher level of theoretical abstraction with the aim of generating new theory. The researcher conducted 75 in-depth interviews and semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and made use of archival documents. The thesis is organised as three empirical studies which can be read independently, but together constitute an in-depth study of institutional entrepreneurship in the informal economy. The thesis's theoretical contributions to the field are as follows. The first study reveals the conditions that generated institutional change in the apparel value chain in response to prevailing conditions that were leading to increasing economic inequality. It presents a model that focuses on three social mechanisms which allow institutional entrepreneurs to build new institutions that were inclusive for large segments of society excluded by the formal sector. The second study explores the emergence of new forms of hybrid organisation in the informal economy. Particularly, it focuses on how informal entrepreneurs organisationally respond to institutional complexity by identifying two types of logic - community and market - and a meta-mechanism that facilitates the interaction between the two logics, named normalisation of deviant organisational practices. The study highlights the two key generative mechanisms of the logics at play and suggests that actors embedded in the informal economy are able to dynamically adapt to two types of logic. It also emphasises how informal entrepreneurs exploit institutional arbitrage, which refers to the circumstances where entrepreneurs are provided with opportunities to exploit differences between two dimensions of the institutional environment, formality and informality. The third study explores how various types of actors and organisations such as social movements or hybrid organisations are able to develop alternative institutional arrangements to overcome the liabilities of emerging economies' institutions in an informal context. The study reveals that informal entrepreneurs entering a polycentric system are able to establish norms and rules of interaction, to exploit brokerage opportunities and multivocality between contradictory networks, and through robust action, generate proto-institutional outcomes. Collectively, these three essays reveal novel knowledge about the organisational mechanisms behind informal economic activities, constituting a theoretical bridge between the fields of institutional theory, inequality and governance and providing fundamental insights for the development of new management theories.

Sammanfattning Regeringens intention med den nya lagen om sjukförsäkring som infördes i juli 2008 och kompletterades i januari 2010, var att gå från en passiv långtidssjukskrivning till ökad rehabilitering och en möjlighet till återgång till arbetsmarknaden samt ett minskat utanförskap.  Den mediala debatten i samklang med våra praktikplatser gjorde oss nyfikna på hur förändringen har påverkat livet för den enskilde individen. Vårt syfte är således att undersöka vilka konsekvenserna blir för enskilda individer i samband med och efter beskedet om utförsäkring från sjukförsäkringen. Vi ville utan att ha några förutfattade meningar lyfta fram intervjupersonernas berättelse så vi valde att ha en explorativ ansats, men tog stöd av en semistrukturerad intervjuguide baserad på tre teman som vi ville veta mer om. Temana är; ekonomisk situation, upplevelser av relationer med berörda myndigheter och upplevelser av samhällets syn och deras syn på sin självbild.   Resultaten är komplexa och visar att de teman vi valt ut påverkar varandra, med det menar vi att det ena inverkar på det andra. De teorier vi valt att använda i analys av materialet är Ekonomi- skam modellen, Kasamteori samt teori om social uteslutning. Vi kan se en väg som leder från ekonomisk uteslutning vidare till social uteslutning för personer som utförsäkrats samt att den ekonomiska stress de utsätt för i kombination med skamgörande erfarenheter ger hög risk för psykisk ohälsa. I vår avslutande diskussion reflekterar vi om lagstiftarens intention med reformerna har haft den avsedda effekten för de utförsäkrade. / Abstract The governments intentions with the new law in sickness benefits that was introduced in July 2008 and was supplemented in January 2010, was to go from a passive long-term sick leave to increased rehabilitation and a possibility to return to the labor market, along with reduced exclusion. The media debate in unison with our trainee jobs made us curious about how this change has affected the individual. Our purpose is accordingly to make researches into the consequences for the individuals in connection with and after expiration of sickness benefits. We wanted without preconceived opinions emphasize the interviewee’s stories so we chose to have an explorative inception. But we took support in a semi- structured interviewguide based on three topics we wanted to know more about. The topics are; economic situation, experiences of the relation with concerned public authorities and experiences of societies view on them and their own view on themselves. The results are complex and show that one factor affects another, which means that one thing, leads to another. The theories we have used are a model for Economics- shame, Kasam and social exclusion theories. We can see a road that leads from economic exclusion to social exclusion for the persons whose period of sickness benefits has expired. And also that the economic stress combined with shameful experiences gives a high risk of psychic illness. In our concluding discussion we reflect about if the government’s intentions with the new laws have had the intended effect for these persons.

Magistrantūros studijų baigiamasis darbas, 48 puslapiai, 13 paveikslų, 5 lentelės, 61 literatūros šaltinių, 3 priedai, lietuvių kalba. PRASMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: smulkieji ūkiai, pusiau natūriniai ūkiai, ekonominė atskirtis, ES finansinė parama. Tyrimo objektas – smulkių ūkių ekonominė atskirtis. Tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti smulkių ūkių ekonominę atskirtį ir ją įtakojančius veiksnius bei įvertinti ES finansinės paramos poveikį šios atskirties mažinimui. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1) pateikti ekonominės atskirties sampratą bei identifikuoti smulkiuosius ūkius; 2) apibrėžti ekonominės atskirties veiksnius; 3) nustatyti finansinės paramos būtinumą smulkiems ūkiams; 4) įvertinti smulkių ūkių ekonominę atskirtį ir paramos įtaką šios atskirties mažinimui Šilalės rajone. Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės ir publicistinės literatūros, statistinių duomenų, dokumentų ir teisinių aktų analizės bei sintezės metodai; statistinių duomenų rinkimo ir analizės, grupavimo, grafinio modeliavimo metodai; lyginamasis metodas; loginis ir apibendrinimo metodai; detalesnei analizei panaudotas analizuojamas duomenų rinkimas apklausos metodu – anketinė apklausa nukreipta į smulkiesiems ūkininkams suteiktos finansinės paramos poveikio ekonominės atskirties veiksnių mažinimui išaiškinimą. Tyrimo rezultatai: • pirmojoje darbo dalyje teoriniame lygmenyje užsienio ir lietuvių literatūros autorių išnagrinėta ekonominės atskirties samprata, smulkių ūkių tipologija, ūkių dydžio kriterijai bei pateikta tyrimo metodika; •... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Final work of University Master studies: 48 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables, 61 references, 3 appendices, in Lithuanian. KEY WORDS: small farms, semi–subsistence farms, economic exclusion, the EU financial support. Research object – the economic exclusion of small farms. Research aim – to explore the economic exclusion of small farms and its determinants, to assess the impact of financial support on the reduction of this exclusion. Objectives: 1) to define the concept of economic exclusion and identify small farms; 2) to explore the determinants of economic exclusion of small farms; 3) to assess the need of financial support for small farms; 4) to examine the impact of financial support on the reduction of the determinants of economic exclusion of small farms in Šilalė district. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of scientific and publicist literature, documents and legislation; statistical data collection and analysis, comparison and graphical representation; logical simulation and summation; questionnaire survey. Research results: • The first part defines the concept of economic exclusion, analizes typology of small farms, criteria of farm size and determines the methods to be used for evaluation of the economic exclusion; • The second part defines the determinants of economic exclusion, reveals the need of financial support for small farms; • The third part evaluates the impact of financial support on the reduction of determinants of economical exclusion of small... [to full text]

The work titled "Rank of caring persons in the context of the social services law" analyses the situation of caring persons during the care. The work follows the question of discrimination and social-economic exclusion of caring persons in the Czech Republic on the basis of executed research analyse. The rank of caring persons is not legally embedded in any legal regulation. However, this results into the fact, that there is neither range of duties nor the law or social benefits in the case of sickness, and the old age pension scheme is very limited, too. This work brings suggestions of measures and solutions of these problems so that family and intergeneration solidarity and rules of subsidiarity would be supported, and at the same time the social and economic discrimination of caring persons in the Czech Republic.