In the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in research on the informal sector in South Africa. Motivating this research, besides academic curiosity, is growing concern over poverty and unemployment amongst South African blacks. The general belief that these factors have contributed significantly to the political unrest now sweeping the country is another encouragement to research. What is being increasingly suggested, not only by academics but also by government officials, businessmen and others, is that the informal sector could be developed in appropriate directions to provide jobs raise living standards and (hence) promote political stability. Attention is now being focused on the question of how best to achieve this objective. In this thesis, proposals for 'developing ' the informal sector in South Africa are examined by a careful analysis of the relevant literature and an in-depth case study of the KwaZulu township, KwaMashu. The first question that needs to be addressed is how to conceptualise the informal sector. There are many interpretations, depending in part on the stage of development attained by the local economy, of what comprises this sector. Does it only consist of the poor, the unlicenced, the untaxed, the unprotected, the harassed? There are many perspectives, too, on whether the informal sector is independent and autonomous or whether it is integrated into the economy in ways that might impede or facilitate its development. It has been argued, for example, that the state and capital determine the parameters of the informal sector at a level most functional to their requirements. These interpretations are critically examined in Chapters One and Two with particular reference to South Africa. Attention is then directed towards the particular case of KwaMashu. The research methodology is discussed in Chapter Three. The approach adopted here combined random-sample questionnaires and case study methods. In order to locate the research in its geographical, temporal and political setting the history of KwaMashu is also briefly reviewed. The research results (which cover the extent, viability, potential and difficulties of the informal sector), are examined in Chapters Four to Six. Chapter Four gives the results of the survey - including three detailed case studies and the findings of the questionnaire survey. In Chapter Five garment makers and retailers (two categories which together make up a large component of the KwaMashu informal sector) are analysed more closely using information obtained from case studies. The field work included interviews, not only with informal sector participants, but also with the officials whose decisions influence the development of the informal sector. The latter is examined in Chapter Six. An important finding particularly relevant for policy decisions - concerned the division in levels of informal sector operation and the policy decisions affecting each level. The concluding chapter combines the findings of literature surveys with the empirical results from KwaMashu in order to assess the opportunities for and the limits to informal sector 'development' in South Africa. Practical and realistic means by which those in this sector might be assisted are also discussed in some detail. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 1985.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.

In many developing countries, a significant proportion of the population relies on work in the informal sector as a source of income. Some scholars have posed the possibility of integrating the informal sector into the formal sector, in an effort to improve the lives and livelihoods of workers and the productivity of a country’s economy. This paper examines potential steps that could allow for such integration by focusing on a sub-sector of the informal sector that has already begun the process of integration: the informal waste management sector. This paper compares the cities of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Pune, India in an attempt to explore their processes of integrating the informal waste sector into the formal waste management process. By examining both scholarly works and primary government documents, this study demonstrates that both Buenos Aires and Pune have implemented a number of initiatives to develop laws and programs in order to integrate their informal waste management systems. Consequently, the municipal governments of these cities have been able to provide a more substantial livelihood for previously informal workers and have improved the sanitation of their cities. These findings imply that the governments of other cities with large informal waste sectors could utilize a similar framework to benefit both vulnerable populations and environmental practices.

Questions about the role of the "informal sector" color much of the discussion of urban economic development in poor countries. Why is there an informal sector (and how to define it)? Are informal businesses stagnant or dynamic, and can they contribute to development? In the small Bolivian city of Sucre, site of this study, there is no "informal sector"; rather, the entire economy demonstrates informal characteristics. With a handful of exceptions, businesses are all very small and household centered. Most manufacturing is done by hand or with simple machines, and informal labor and trade relationships predominate. This thesis describes Sucre's producers, especially chocolate-makers and carpenters, and the local organizations which work with them to promote business growth. Despite attempts by local NGOs, grassroots organizations, and business people, Sucre' businesses stay, small and informal. The reasons for this include: (A) the size and composition of the local market; (B) the problems of trust and contract enforcement which raise transaction costs (for hiring workers, contracting distributors and forming partnerships); (C) the inability to "catch up" with more efficient, mechanized competitors in neighboring countries; and (D) a tendency for households to diversify their investments as a response to risk and uncertain markets. The main problem impeding business growth in Sucre is not the businesses' informality (which is principally a result of their smallness), but the local social, economic and institutional environment in which they must work. This is an environment in which business owners have learned to survive and even, occasionally, prosper, but one which they have thus far been unable to change.

This study aims to formulate an understanding of the structuring of informal home-based work at the plane of interrelations between capitalism and patriarchy. It examines informal home-based work with an understanding based on two foci, which are market relations and traditional gender roles. It develops its own suggestions of conceptualisations, namely deliberate concealment and devalorisation by obscuring, building up these concepts abstractly in the theoretical sections and concretely the analyses.

The primary aim of the thesis is to explain informality with the help of labor market segmentation theory in the case of Turkey. In so doing, the informalization process in Turkey is discussed with reference to not only the definitional confusions in different conceptualizations of the informal sector in the literature, but also trade liberalization, privatization, subcontracting relationships and the notion of &ldquo / flexible firm&rdquo / , as well. In order to find an answer to the question of &ldquo / how the dimensions of informality fit into the perception about labor market segmentation theory&rdquo / , the field surveys conducted by different authors are analyzed. The findings of these field surveys confirm a possible explanation of informalization via labor market segmentation theory in Turkey.

Bibliography: leaves 252-266 / x, 266 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Centre for Asian Studies, 1991

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Flinders University, Faculty of Social Sciences. / Typescript (bound). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257 - 275). Also available online.

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Maliye Anabilim Dalı, 2007. / Bibliyografya var.

Thesis (M.Env.Dev.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.