• Refine Query
  • Source
  • Publication year
  • to
  • Language
  • 48
  • 13
  • 12
  • 7
  • 3
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • Tagged with
  • 106
  • 106
  • 20
  • 19
  • 18
  • 17
  • 16
  • 14
  • 13
  • 13
  • 11
  • 11
  • 9
  • 9
  • 9
  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

Recent foreign immigration and the labour market in Athens

Iosifides, Theodoros January 1997 (has links)
This thesis presents a mainly empirical analysis of the phenomenon of recent immigration to the Athens conurbation and of the relationship of foreign workers to the Athenian lahour market. The research focuses on three of the main groups of foreign migrant workers from Third World and Eastern European countries: Albanians, Egyptians and Filipinos. After an analysis of the nature and characteristics of the Greek economy and labour market the research is built around three major topics: the differentiation of migrant groups within the context of Greek labour market segmentation; the relation between immigration and the informal, underground economy; and the impact of immigration on the spatial and social division of labour in Athens. Methodologically, the main effort of the study was a field survey of recent immigrants in Athens, undertaken over a period of seven months hetween August 1995 and February 1996. The first three chapters of the thesis contain the theoretical hackground to the empirical research. Chapter 4 contains a detailed presentation of methodological tools and approaches adopted during the field research in Athens. Chapter 5 presents the general background and profile data of 141 immigrants interviewed, including such variables as age, sex, time and means of arrival, education and training, reasons for migrating to Greece, family circumstances, remittance behaviour, and plans for the future. Chapter 6 is an extended discussion of the interactions between immigrants and the Athens labour market, based partly on a detailed analysis of the city's economy and social formation, and pattly on interview results. Chapter 7 looks more closely at the day-to-day lives of the immigrants in Athens, focusing in particular on their housing arrangements and their impact on the social geography of the city. Finally Chapter 8 concludes the thesis. It shows how the empirical findings to the different research questions are related to each other and how these findings are related to past and contemporary theories of migration. The strengths and weaknesses of the research are evaluated and suggestions for further research made.
2

Rethinking informality in time of crisis and changes : self-employment and petty entrepreneurship in Havana / Self-employment and petty entrepreneurship in Havana

Chen, Yu 13 February 2012 (has links)
My research reviews the current literature on cuentapropismo (self-employment) in Havana and some of the existing theories of informality. My major goal is to see how well such theories explain the Havana case. Traditional approaches to understanding the informal economy do not fit Havana, which is distinct in terms of (1) social class structure, (2) social demography, (3) the relations between the formal and informal sectors, and (4) the relations between the informal economy and globalization. My research also examines the nature of informality and entrepreneurship and argues that the former supports the latter in three ways: overexploitation, invisibility and informal social network. These three elements apply to previous state employees who quit state jobs to enter the informal sector. In a context of neoliberal reforms and the consolidation of urbanization in Latin American countries, I conclude that it is necessary to theorize the experience of these informal entrepreneurs who previously worked in the formal sector and whose human capital and expectations separate them from earlier rural-origin migrants of the 1960s. / text
3

Resilience and risk in the informal economy: a study in the regulation of flooding

Shale, Moliehi Thuto January 2015 (has links)
Includes bibliographical references / Small scale business owners living and operating businesses in flood prone informal settlement areas are amongst the most vulnerable groups of society to climate change and associated risks. The state is unable to provide key goods and services in many of these areas of limited statehood. How these business owners respond to flood hazard in areas of limited statehood is of interest to this research. This research explores the governance processes in informal settlement areas in Cape Town, South Africa. A key concern in this study is what widespread informality means for the lived realities of the poor in environmentally vulnerable communities, particularly informal settlement areas. I explore the flood management strategies available in both the formal and informal sectors and how they are used by the small-scale business. Using a mixed method approach, in two informal settlement areas in Cape Town, I draw out and test factors for comparison with a focus on understanding the determinants of small business owners' choice and use of flood management strategy. The main literary contribution that this study makes is to demonstrate the ways in which civil associations in the informal sector built social capital that is then called upon at times of hazard. These civil associations help the business owners monetarily, but they also have inbuilt social capital which members exploit to respond to hazards other than the ones that the associations were created for. This way, small business owners can count on fellow community members in the face of adversity. I explore the ways that social capital is built in these associations, and how members are encouraged to contribute towards it and help others in times of need. This research helps our understanding of regulations outside of the state, and the governance role of non-state actors to respond to multiple hazards. By interrogating this governance issue in informal settlement areas and amongst low-income owners, I contribute to the growing literature on informality in African cities. The research makes an important contribution to research study whose framing of the state is empirically based, and therefore reflects the reality on the ground in many African cities. Much of the literature on governance in African studies had assumed the idea of a Westphalian state and interrogated the state, its functions and interaction the populace under this framing. Consequently, such research is unable to capture the real nature and governance capabilities of the state and raised more questions that it has been able to answer. Further, this framing of the governance role of the state in African cities obscures the role of non-state governance actors in both the formal and informal sectors. To this end, I conducted interviews with a total of 154 small business owners in Joe Slovo informal settlement in Langa township and Victoria Mxenge informal settlement in Philippi township. The interviews elicited information on business owners' exposure to flooding, their response and the factors that influenced their choice to response mechanism. A survey was also conducted to get demographic data of the business owners in the research sites, other key government officials, academic researchers, and representatives of insurance companies in the formal market. Based on this survey data further variables that could influence the choice of flood management strategy were drawn and tested in further interviews. The findings of the research point to the usefulness of nonstate institutions in the response to flooding in poor communities. The social capital built in to civil associations and its availability to fellow members at times of adversity makes them an adaptive vehicle to respond to numerous other hazards other than the ones that they are intended for.
4

Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town

Timm, Suzall January 2015 (has links)
Includes bibliographical references / A large amount of people in South Africa earn their living from recycling waste on landfills or the streets in cities across the country. Much is written about those operating on landfills, although a few studies focus on those operating on the streets. The latter studies largely focus on the socio-economic conditions and collective organising capacity of these informal sector workers, and their relationships with other actors. Although, these studies provide a useful resource for understanding the nature of their work and the contexts in which it emerges, very little is known about how their work is regulated. With this in mind, this thesis asks the following research question; how are informal activities regulated in the city? Drawing on the idea of non-humans as actors (in Actor Network Theory terms) this thesis argues that informal activities are regulated by hybrid modes of regulation that include human/non-human and formal and informal assemblages. The research was conducted between 2008 and 2014. It made use of qualitative methodologies and approaches, i.e. semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and documentary analysis, as methods of data collection. The findings of the research reveal that informal activities are regulated in the followings ways. Firstly, it shows that objects such as trolleys, carthorses, bakkies and storage facilities are regulators that actively enabled or constrained informal waste activities. Secondly, the findings suggest that these nonhumans play an active role in organising the spaces where informal waste activities are carried out. Finally, the findings show that these nonhumans also play an active role in how informal waste collectors build alliances through assembling hybrid collectives of humans and non-humans in order to mobilise resources. The main finding in this study is that regulation in the urban informal economy is constituted by human/non-human and formal/informal assemblages. Including the non-human in the analysis of regulation in the urban informal economy is important because it contributes to a better understanding of regulation in the urban informal economy. It does so by highlighting that regulation in the urban informal economy is not only based on human social relations consisting of rules, norms, and institutions but is constitutive of assemblages that involve all actors (both human and non-humans).
5

Migration, ethnic economy and precarious citizenship among urban indigenous people

Bariola, Nino 18 November 2014 (has links)
This thesis contributes to our understanding of the impacts of political, social and economic dynamics of contemporary “free-market cities” on indigenous people that leave their traditional territories to settle on Latin American metropolises. The thesis examines the case of indigenous Shipibo migrants from the Amazon that have occupied in Lima, Peru a landfill site owned by the municipal government, and developed there a shantytown. The analyzes of the case sheds light on the innovative strategies that the Shipibo resort to in order to survive in the absence of formal jobs and social programs, and even despite recurrent threats to their social and cultural rights. Through the production of traditional handicraft, they collectively become ethnic entrepreneurs and enter the vast urban informal economy. Beside its interesting consequences for local politics and gender relations, this ethnic economic practice also becomes a way of group making and community building. After prolonged waits –during which the state appeared intermittently and with ambiguous messages–, the Shipibo finally face they most dreaded fear: eviction. Upon confronting this situation, and lacking the clientelistic networks in which Andean migrant peasants could count on in past decades, the Shipibo utilize a innovative repertoire of contained contention to appeal to the leftist municipal authority and thus articulate functional alliances with the goal of gaining land tenure. / text
6

A study of the perceptions and adoption of Mobile Payment Platforms by entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe's informal economy

Mbele-Sibotshiwe, Thando 17 February 2014 (has links)
Thesis (M.M. (Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / With the growth of developing nations there has also been a growth in the need to recognize entrepreneurship and market-driven solutions as tools that can be used to bring the people in these developing nations out of poverty. If technology is widely adopted and accepted in a society, the long-term impact on that society can be more effective than any other social force. A great example of this phenomenon is the explosive growth of mobile devices technology that has infiltrated every part of the world and in all levels of the economic pyramid as they can play a large and critical role in social transformations in developed and developing economies (Lee et al 2010). Since the introduction of the mobile phone in Zimbabwe in 1996, there are 9,527,520 users of mobile phones. .A mobile banking platform, Eco-Cash, was launched by Econet Wireless, a cellular phone network provider at the end of 2011. This platform was launched in order to take advantage of a large identified gap in the Zimbabwean economy (Makunike 2013). At the end of 2012 there were 270 000 active users and 1.5 million registered users of the Eco-Cash MPP (Kabweza 2012). This study is of the perceptions and adoption of Mobile Payment Platforms (MPP) by informal entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe and employs the use of an adapted version of the Technology Acceptance Model, developed by F. Davis in his doctoral thesis in 1985, as the research framework. The model has been modified by different researchers over the years. Data collection for this study was administered telephonically to the informal entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe and this study only used primary data sources. This data was extracted from the respondents answering the telephonic surveys. This research found that although informal entrepreneurs, who are either personal or business users or non-users of the MPP are positively disposed, in terms of perceived usefulness, perceived cost, perceived support, perceived social influence, overall trust and perceived overall risk, this disposition may not necessarily lead to the increased usage of the MPP by informal entrepreneurs iv in Zimbabwe. However, perceived ease of use proved to be the exception, as the research study showed that the more informal entrepreneurs perceived the MPP to be simple and easy to use, this perception may lead to the increase in the perceptions and adoption of MPP. As this is one of few studies that to look into the adoption of MPP in Zimbabwe, this study serves as the foundation for future research in Zimbabwe that pertains to the adoption of MPP by entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe‟s formal and informal economy.
7

Power of the informal : smallholder charcoal production in Mozambique

Jones, Daniel Edward January 2017 (has links)
The charcoal market in Africa is an informal economy. This enables millions of people to earn a living producing, selling and trading charcoal, due to low barriers to market entry. However, research and policy on charcoal has long focused on the downsides of informality. Informal charcoal production is commonly linked to criminality, an undermining of social cohesion, poor working conditions and most of all, forest loss. These negative perspectives continue to shape our approaches to charcoal markets, despite a recent reframing of charcoal as a potential sustainable development opportunity. This thesis aims to provide an alternative perspective. I argue that by focusing on the negative aspects of charcoal production, in particular forest loss, we end up misdiagnosing the problems and excluding stakeholders. The focus on forest loss has obscured research on the role of charcoal in rural livelihoods and has led to research that is primarily interested in large-scale production providing charcoal to major urban areas. This means small-scale charcoal production has been comparatively neglected in academic research, despite its importance for rural livelihoods and overall charcoal supply. Through three empirical chapters, I provide perspectives on small-scale charcoal production, its role in rural livelihoods and some of the factors that shape this role. I strive to provide novel analytical insights by moving away from questions of charcoal’s environmental impact and towards an approach that situates charcoal within the politics of rural livelihoods. I explore these ideas using case studies from Mozambique and a mixed methods approach. The results show small-scale charcoal production is a flexible form of income, primarily used as a livelihood diversification strategy. Furthermore, charcoal production is closely linked to the agricultural practices of producers. This means that conventional theoretical approaches to forest loss that treat charcoal production as distinct from agricultural practice may misinterpret the role of charcoal production in deforestation and forest degradation. I then move on to look at approaches to charcoal market formalisation in Mozambique. The results show that the regulations, whilst shaped by a variety of processes, concentrate on governing charcoal as an environmental problem. Changes to forest management requirements within the regulations have done little to improve sustainability as they are incapable of reaching out to small producers, in part due to inherent barriers within the formalisation process - stringent forest management plans and a conceptualisation of charcoal as a full-time, professional livelihood. The picture of charcoal production that emerges from the thesis is one of a flexible cash-income generating strategy, complicated by the politics of forest loss and livelihoods at local and national levels. The results show that charcoal plays a vital role in rural economies, not only in spite of its informality, but because of it. I argue throughout the thesis that small-scale charcoal production should be seen as a livelihood strategy to be nurtured rather than neglected and marginalised. The research questions whether the formalisation and modernisation of charcoal markets can engage small producers and concludes that in order to allow charcoal livelihoods to flourish and to improve sustainability, interventions need to work with, and for, charcoal as an informal economy.
8

Shaping informality in the free market city : a comparative spatial analysis of street vending policies in Lima and Bogotá

Aliaga Linares, Lissette, 1977- 25 February 2013 (has links)
In addition to labor market factors, the informal economy in Latin America is explained as a product of a weak state capacity to enforce regulation and a networked and resourceful community that enables self-sustained economic activities. Theoretically,informal self-employment flourishes where these conditions prevail. However, as urban renewal advances and business chains expand thorough the city, street trade, one of the most typical informal occupations is persecuted more aggressively, questioning its legitimacy as a spatial practice and source of employment for the urban poor. This dissertation examines the changes in the conception of street trade as a subject of policy, by analyzing closely how current transformations in the urban structure, ideologies of urban development and planning have impacted in the way policy makers intervene in public space and have redefined practices of street trade. It compares the cities of Bogotá and Lima, contributing respectively, to the understanding of progressive and neoliberal styles of urban planning. Using a mixed methods research design, it articulates citywide trends with local conditions and individual experiences, following three stages of analysis: (1) A comparative policy analysis based on a descriptive analysis of its evolution across scales and a spatial analysis of the local variability of enforcement patterns, identifying not only vendors’ agglomeration factors but also where enforcement matches the expansion of large retailers; (2) a comparative analysis based on public officials interviews of current rationales behind placemaking strategies at the city and local level; and (3) a comparative analysis of street vendors spatial practices as well as economic and political choices given the different city policy frameworks and their exposure to distinctive enforcement patterns as identified in the spatial analysis. The findings of this study provide a baseline for further theorization of the role of spatial dimension as it relates to the informal sector. The systematic comprehension of the relationship between city regulation of space and its actual use aims to contribute to a more integrative approach to policy making seeking to ensure that regulation and commercial growth complement and do not burden opportunities for self-employment among the urban poor. / text
9

Cooperativismo, alternativa ou ilusão?: um estudo de caso com os trabalhadores informais inseridos no ramo alimentício de salgados nos municípios de Tabatinga e Benjamin Constant, Amazonas

Porto, Selomi Bermeguy, 92991746348 28 November 2017 (has links)
Submitted by Juliana Tregnago (julianatregnago@gmail.com) on 2018-06-18T15:32:58Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_Cooperativismo - Alternativa ou ilusão_ PPGSCA_U.pdf: 2417786 bytes, checksum: 9a158b25a7ae55a7cb4679002d056c04 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-06-19T13:49:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_Cooperativismo - Alternativa ou ilusão_ PPGSCA_U.pdf: 2417786 bytes, checksum: 9a158b25a7ae55a7cb4679002d056c04 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-06-19T13:58:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_Cooperativismo - Alternativa ou ilusão_ PPGSCA_U.pdf: 2417786 bytes, checksum: 9a158b25a7ae55a7cb4679002d056c04 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-19T13:58:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_Cooperativismo - Alternativa ou ilusão_ PPGSCA_U.pdf: 2417786 bytes, checksum: 9a158b25a7ae55a7cb4679002d056c04 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-28 / This research entitled Cooperativism - Alternative or Illusion? A Case Study of the Informal Workers in the Snacks Food Sector in the cities of Tabatinga and Benjamin Constant, Amazonas, is important to elucidate the discussion about informal work and the alternatives to organize the labor force in the bases of a solidarity economy, because, if on the one hand, the number of jobs has decreased, on the other hand, the unemployment rate has increased and, consequently, the labor force in the informal labor market. It shows a reflex of the unemployment scene where the workers moved by the need to ensure family support, many workers have entered the informal labor market as a way to promote employment and monthly income. In general terms, it was sought to know and understand the informal work performance of the snack food sector in the neighboring cities of Tabatinga and Benjamin Constant, as the contribution of cooperativism as an alternative to improve work. The specific purpose was: a) to identify the profile of informal workers and the economic activity of snack food industry; b) to describe the main difficulties that informal workers face in this sector; c) to discuss how the cooperativism may contribute to improve the informal workers condition in the snack food sector. The research was based on the dialectical method, and guided by a qualitative approach, using interviews and application forms with the informal snack workers from the cities of Tabatinga and Benjamin Constant. This research allowed to check that informal activity in the snack food sector is a reality and a part of the regional population daily life, the product sold is part of the consumer's eating habits, which has been seen as an opportunity for income generation for many local families. However, the workers involved in this activity face many problems regarding the limitation of the capital for the acquisition of inputs, lack of equipment and adequate place for production, inadequate infrastructure for commercialization and competitiveness since the concentration of snack sales is one of the main activities in the cities investigated. Considering the facts, is necessary to think about alternatives to improve the work and performance in this market. Therefore, this studies purpose was to propose some alternatives that, these kind of workers, can achieve recognition in their activity and, been covered by public policies that enable them to develop their business activities. / A presente pesquisa titulada “Cooperativismo - Alternativa ou Ilusão? Um Estudo de Caso com os trabalhadores informais inseridos no ramo alimentício de salgados nos Municípios de Tabatinga e Benjamin Constant, Amazonas”, é direcionada para elucidar uma discussão em torno do trabalho informal e as alternativas de organização da força de trabalho nas bases da economia solidária. Isso porque se por um lado, o número de postos de trabalho diminuiu, por outro lado, o índice de pessoas desempregadas aumentou e, consequentemente a expressão da massa trabalhista no mercado de trabalho informal. Reflexo do cenário de desemprego e movidos pela necessidade de garantir o sustento familiar muitos trabalhadores têm ingressado no mercado do trabalho informal como meio de promover ocupação e renda. Buscou-se em termos gerais conhecer e entender a atuação do trabalho informal no ramo alimentício de salgados nos municípios fronteiriços de Tabatinga e Benjamin Constant, assim como a possível contribuição do cooperativismo como alternativa de melhoria do trabalho. A imersão na temática, de forma específica, foi norteada para: a) Identificar o perfil dos trabalhadores informais e da atividade econômica do ramo alimentício de salgados; b) Descrever as principais dificuldades enfrentadas pelos trabalhadores informais inseridos no ramo alimentício de salgados; c) Discutir, em que medida, o cooperativismo poderá vir a contribuir para a melhoria do trabalho dos trabalhadores informais inseridos no ramo alimentício de salgados. A pesquisa foi direcionada nas bases do método dialético, norteada, principalmente, por uma abordagem qualitativa, fazendo uso de entrevistas e aplicação de formulários junto aos “salgadeiros” informais dos municípios de Tabatinga e Benjamin Constant. A pesquisa possibilitou verificar que a atividade informal no ramo alimentício de salgados é uma realidade e faz parte do cotidiano da população regional, o produto comercializado faz parte do hábito alimentar do consumidor, o que tem sido visto como oportunidade de geração de renda para muitas famílias locais. Todavia, os trabalhadores inseridos nesta atividade enfrentam muitos problemas quanto à limitação de capital para aquisição de insumos, falta de equipamentos e espaço adequado para produção, infraestrutura inadequada para comercialização e competitividade uma vez que a concentração de vendas de salgados é uma das principais atividades nos municípios pesquisados. Considerando os fatos é necessário pensar em alternativas de melhoria do trabalho e atuação no mercado destes trabalhadores. Assim, as propostas de saídas alternativas para que esses trabalhadores possam alcançar reconhecimento em sua atividade e, serem contemplados por políticas públicas que os habilitem a se desenvolverem em suas atividades de negócio, é o direcionamento que se pretendeu dar por meio deste estudo.
10

Digital Platform Strategies and Informal Economy: A Qualitative Study of Indonesian Platform-driven Firms / デジタルプラットフォーム戦略とインフォーマルエコノミー: インドネシアのプラットフォーム駆動型企業に関する質的研究

Eko, Heru Prasetyo 26 September 2022 (has links)
京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第24163号 / 経博第657号 / 新制||経||302(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 COLPAN Meziyet Asli, 准教授 WANG Tao, 教授 関口 倫紀 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

Page generated in 0.0867 seconds