How does legal status shape access to housing? This research explores the housing journeys of Ghanaian migrants in the borough of the Bronx in New York City to answer that question. The aim of this research is to understand the processes by which poor documented and undocumented migrants access housing, and to uncover the hidden, informal sub-markets that they occupy. Data were collected over a 14-month period of fieldwork, through 2014 and 2015, using a mixed methods approach. Quantitative data were drawn from secondary datasets and qualitative data were obtained from in-depth interviews with migrants, housing providers, and intermediaries. This study adapts urban informality theory by adjoining it with the concepts of migrant enclaves, social capital, and survival strategies. Urban informality describes informal settlements in the Global South that arise due to suspended sovereignty, where the state allows settlements to form to facilitate rapid urbanisation at minimal institutional cost. Urban informality occurs in the Bronx differently than in the Global South: migrants do not construct housing but rather obtain units on the formal market that they then sublet on their own informal market. Complicit actors, including profit-seeking providers and indifferent public authorities, allow this informal market to form. The findings show that, surprisingly, legal status is not an organizing framework in the housing market. Rather, the strength of one's social ties to the Ghanaian migrant community strongly determines how housing is accessed. For instance, undocumented migrants report better housing outcomes (lower rents and higher satisfaction) compared to their documented counterparts because they have more robust connections to other migrants. The only migrant group that can overcome weak social network ties and still readily access affordable housing are unmarried female Ghanaian migrants, as they are desired as household labourers and potential spouses. This research further finds that documented and undocumented migrants are similar in one important respect, they resist support from public institutions: housing courts, social service agencies, and elected representatives. This stems from pervasive myths and misinformation regarding government: migrants tend to believe that public authorities seek to deport them or otherwise prohibit their families from immigrating to the U.S., and that they only truly serve Hispanics, who are in the majority in the Bronx. This results in avoidable impoverishment, particularly among documented migrants who decline to seek public benefits to which they are legally qualified and entitled. This study contributes to knowledge with its empirical findings, methodology, and theoretical developments. The findings deepen our understanding of poor migrant communities residing in the Global North, and the implications of legal status for housing access. The methodology provides a novel approach for uncovering and examining allocation processes in hidden markets. The adapted urban informality model gives new theoretical insights into the relationship between formality and informality, which has further applications in housing studies and urban economics.

The fundamental question in development economics is what causes some countries to become more prosperous than others. The literature, starting with Hall and Jones (1999), has identified differences in total factor productivity (TFP) as being the driver of cross-country income differences. I investigate policies that may give rise to these differences in TFP. I pay particular attention to the influence of informal economies in developing countries and how macroeconomic policies can distort firm-level incentives to innovate and operate formally. To address these questions, I construct a series of macroeconomic models which have several common elements. First, I model firm-level decisions with regard to innovation. These firm-level decisions ultimately give rise to differences in productivity across countries. Second, I embrace the role of firm heterogeneity in productivity to examine the dynamics of firm choice. Finally, through the use of computational methods, I simulate these models to evaluate the macroeconomic effects of policy distortions on firm-level decision making. Subject to the common elements above, each chapter answers a specific policy question. Chapter II asks whether size-based tax distortions can generate firm-size distributions often observed in developing countries. I find that a model with innovation and firm-level heterogeneity can explain the prevalence of large firms in response to tax distortions, but additional frictions are necessary to explain the ubiquity of small firms in most developing countries. It also illustrates tax distortions may have little impact on aggregate output while dramatically reducing innovation. Chapter III documents that tax rates can negatively affect growth by inducing firms to participate in the informal sector rather than the formal sector. Finally, Chapter IV shows how tax revenues are affected by changes in tax rates given the provision of a productive public good.

This dissertation focuses on the analysis of child labor in Mexico. It examines how families make decisions about child labor and schooling in a context of poverty and marginalization. I argue that the impact of poverty is mediated by cultural and social factors that determine activities done by children. The dissertation explores work opportunities available for children in rural and urban areas, and how these opportunities shape decisions. In some cases, urban life has become something desired; in others, there is a lack of opportunity to attend school. But in all cases, poverty is a constant. The cost of schooling can be very high; even when public education is available, many families are not able to afford it. However, poverty in itself does not necessarily leads to child labor; culture and prejudices about gender roles, mediate the perceived cost of schooling. This research demonstrates important differences between the activities that boys and girls perform, as a result of the ideas that their parents have of what a child “must do” because of being a boy or a girl. It also highlights the influence of culture and personal history in the decision making process. Finally, in addition to highlighting the importance of a human rights perspective and a gender-based approach, this research underlines the importance of including a definition of child labor that goes beyond economic activities, and considers unpaid domestic work and marginal activities as part of the definition, in order to be able to better understand parents’ decisions about child labor and schooling. / text

This thesis sets out to identify a possible linkage between the concept of informality and Indigenous planning, and explore a role for planners in that linkage. It takes as a jumping-off point a 2010 Indigenous Planning Studio project in which two Master of City Planning (MCP) students assisted the Fisher River Cree Nation in developing street names and addresses for their reserve community, an exercise later determined to be an example of planners working with informality. Ways in which planners may contribute to the fostering of more useful relationships between more and less formal systems are also explored. The thesis looks at the extent to which embracing urban informality and making it part of the standard discourse on planning could help make the planning more relevant and improve its usefulness at the intersection between formality and informality.

Informal public transport (IPT) has emerged as an adaptive alternative to formal public transport in developing countries. The informal public transport service has both positive and negative impacts on the wellbeing of urban dwellers. As such, there are varying discourses on whether IPT should be considered an urban resource or a problem. The impact of urban growth in terms of population increase and urban spatial sprawl creates public transport challenges in developing countries. It is against this backdrop that this study explored the perceptions of informal public transport stakeholders on the quality of service (QoS) experienced in the City of Ibadan, Nigeria. A pragmatist philosophical approach is adopted in this study in order to explore the stakeholders' perceptions of the QoS of IPT in Ibadan. A convergent mixed methods research design was employed to explore the set objectives seeking to understand how the impact of urban growth in Ibadan has developed a demand for public transport, more so against the backdrop of the diminished public investment in transport services and infrastructure. The study seeks to identify and explore stakeholders' perceptions on the established IPT in Ibadan. The study developed a multi-criteria evaluation model to explore and analyse such perceptions on QoS on identified three Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Ibadan. The identified issues are discussed using culture sensitisation of governance in the context of Ibadan and reflecting such perceptions against the ideals for individuals and public. Findings from the study reveal mixed stakeholders' perceptions. The descriptive analysis and narratives of the stakeholders reveal that some of the criteria are positively perceived. The application of the Kruskal Wallis Analysis for variability across the three studied local authorities reveal that there is insignificant influence of the socioeconomic characteristics of the users on perceptions of IPT. However, an analysis of individual criteria established in the multi-criteria evaluation model reveals a low users' perceptions of the QoS provided by IPT users. The study concludes that the positive perceptions attributed by users of the IPT, despite its otherwise poor QoS, is explained by the fact that the use of IPT in Ibadan is not out of public choice but a necessity given that there is no other alternative mode of public transport. Consequently, the study concludes that perceptions of informal public transport relate to the impact on individuals and public wellbeing. This is alternative thought from discourses that perceive urban growth in terms of population growth and physical spatial sprawl to the shift towards explaining the impact of urban growth and need for transport in terms of public wellbeing. Following on to this, the study draws a recommendation for a transport policy and practice developed from the nexus of the regulatory state, the informal transport sector and the users of informal transport driven by the view that informal transport is a key contributor to public wellbeing in cities of the developing world. Thus, the IPT should be sensitised as a permanent and 'formal' element for the City of Ibadan and not perceived as illegal and targeted for withdrawal from the urban.

Diversos ciudadanos de Lima tienen adversidades en los servicios básicos del hogar. Problemas comunes como el atoro de inodoros, una volada de fusible e inclusive daño que imposibilite realizar su vida de manera cotidiana. Así mismo, hay muchos trabajadores informales que pueden dar solución a estos problemas. Las cuales son personas que viven del día a día, y mientras más trabajo tenga, mejor calidad de vida podría alcanzar. Por ello, el objetivo de nuestro proyecto es conectar a estos dos segmentos, a través de una plataforma web, donde podrán encontrar personal capacitado para lo que se requiera. Los proveedores del servicio decidirán entre dos tipos de suscripciones mensuales; y por el lado de los clientes, pagarán una tarifa plana para la revisión de sus problemas. Se tiene la convicción de la viabilidad de este proyecto, basados en los resultados de la investigación de mercado, focus group, entrevistas a expertos y resultados del concierge. / Many citizens of Lima have adversities with the home basic services. These can get stuck, spoiled, even completely broken. And, on the other side, many informal workers that can give solutions to these problems. Which are people that lives up to a daily income; as much work they can make, they can achieve a better life quality. For that reason, this project intends to connect these two segments, through a web platform, where they can find the qualified technician it is needed. The providers of this service will choose between two option of subscription; meanwhile, the clients will pay a flat rate for the inspection of their problem. The team has the belief of the viability of this project, based on the results of the market investigation, focus group, interviews to experts and the concierge. / Trabajo de investigación

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第20147号 / 経博第545号 / 新制||経||280(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)准教授 遊喜 一洋, 教授 劉 徳強, 教授 神事 直人 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DFAM

A informalidade atinge níveis expressivos nos países em desenvolvimento. No Brasil cerca de 50% dos postos de trabalho estão na informalidade, sendo responsáveis por quase 40% do PIB nacional. O modelo de crescimento neoclássico padrão, desenvolvido e aplicado originalmente para países desenvolvidos não é capaz de compreender porque os brasileiros não estão trabalhando menos como conseqüência dos fortes crescimentos das alíquotas tributárias no início dos anos 90. O modelo prevê uma queda dramática do número de horas trabalhadas, entretanto tal fenômeno não é observado nos dados. A informalidade parece uma boa resposta para esse desajuste, pois trabalhadores informais pagam menos impostos e, assim, aumentos nas alíquotas impactariam menos a decisão de ofertar trabalho. O objetivo dessa dissertação é modelar o número de horas trabalhadas pelo brasileiro médio para o período 1986- 1998, adicionando um setor informal no modelo de crescimento neoclássico. A inclusão de um setor informal no modelo diminui o efeito de impostos sobre o número de horas trabalhadas, melhorando assim a aderência do modelo aos dados brasileiros. / The informal sector has reached significant levels in developing countries. In Brazil about 50% of jobs are informal and account for nearly 40% of national GDP. The traditional neoclassical growth model does not explain why, given the significant increase in tax rates in the early 90s, Brazilians did not work less. The traditional model predicts a dramatic drop in the number of hours worked, but such a sharp drop is not observed in Brazilian data. The informal sector seems to be a good explanation for this divergence; informal workers do not pay taxes and so the increases in tax rates should have no impact in ones work-leisure decision. The central aim of this dissertation is to model the number of hours the average Brazilian worked between 1986 and 1998. By including the informal sector, the proposed model predicts a less dramatic change in the number of hours worked in the presence of increasing tax rates. This change makes the predicted number of hours worked closer to the actual behavior found in Brazilian data.

A reorganização econômica, caracterizada pelo processo de globalização, provocou alterações nas estruturas produtivas da economia brasileira e, conseqüentemente, mudanças no mercado de trabalho. Essas mudanças refletiram-se nas características setoriais de emprego, trazendo uma grande preocupação quanto às relações de trabalho e à crescente taxa de desemprego. A reorientação do modelo de desenvolvimento, que transitava de proteção ao setor industrial para uma economia aberta e a consolidação da moeda, a partir de 1990, originou profundas mudanças no mercado de trabalho brasileiro. Os postos de trabalho dos setores primário e secundário foram reduzidos, enquanto que, no setor terciário, houve aumento dos empregos, mas não suficiente para absorver todos os trabalhadores liberados dos demais setores. A participação dos trabalhadores no mercado informal no ano de 2003 representava cerca de 52%. Dessa forma, a questão de empregos no Brasil nos últimos anos tem se tornado cada vez mais discutida e questionada quanto à capacidade de gerar novos empregos e qual a qualidade desses empregos. O trabalho pretende discutir as características e evolução do pessoal ocupado procurando analisar a relação setorial entre os empregos formais e informais, a partir de 1990, sob a ótica do modelo Insumo-Produto. Os principais resultados apontam que houve uma redução da capacidade de gerar empregos para cada um milhão de reais da produção. Os dados mostram que apesar da proporção de trabalhadores informais na economia ser superior aos trabalhadores na formalidade, o setor formal foi o responsável por cerca de 60% dos empregos gerados no período estudado. / The reorganization of the Brazilian economy, in the globalization process, has brought out changes in its productive structure, and, consequently, changes in the job market. These changes had impact on the employment at the sectoral level, with great concerns related to the labor relations and to the growing unemployment rates. In the 1990s, the change in the focus of the development strategy, from a closed protected economy to an open economy with monetary control, has originated deep changes in the labor market. The number of employed persons in the primary and secondary sector was reduced, while in the tertiary sector there was an increase in the number of jobs, but not enough to absorb all the employees released from the previous two sectors. The share of informal jobs in the Brazilian economy was around 52% in 2003. In this way, the question of employment generated by the economic sectors, in number and quality, has become a crucial issue. The goal of this work is to study the characteristics and the evolution of the occupied persons, and to relate it with the formal and informal job market, as well as the economy productive structure, using for that input-output matrices constructed for the Brazilian economy. The main results show that there was a reduction in the capacity of the economy to generate employment for every million of Reais produced in a given sector. The data also shows that despite the ratio of informal workers in the economy being superior to the workers in the formality, the formal sector was responsible for about 60% of the jobs generated in the period of analysis.

La presente investigación tiene como principal objetivo determinar si las importaciones de calzado chino de la partida 6404190000 repercutieron a la producción del sector calzado en las empresas productoras de Lima Metropolitana durante el periodo 2015-2017. En nuestro país la cultura del calzado peruano viene de un sistema de personas no profesionales. Con el pasar del tiempo este grupo no ha logrado su especialización, pues a pesar de la apertura a nuevos mercados internacionales, la ausencia de apoyo financiero no les ha permitido estar a la vanguardia con tecnología que permita contrarrestar el ingreso masivo de calzados chinos. En la actualidad, las empresas productoras establecidas y con un mercado ganado, han empezado a apostar por tecnología, calidad e innovación, lo que les permite comenzar a diferenciarse ante la gran competencia existente en nuestro país, pues creemos que el ingreso de calzados de procedencia china de la partida 6404190000, ha impactado desfavorablemente a los productores por ser económicos y por contar con mejores diseños. Asimismo, el intercambio comercial entre Perú y China ha tenido un crecimiento acelerado luego de la firma del tratado de libre comercio. Puesto que, luego de ocho años de vigencia, el comercio entre ambos países ha sido beneficioso y además para el 2017, China pasó a ser nuestro principal socio comercial. También, mencionamos a la informalidad como un problema grave en el Perú, en el que el rubro del sector calzado no está ajeno, pues tres de cada cuatro empresas deciden emprender su negocio en el camino de la informalidad. Esto se debe a los altos costos que conlleva a ser formal en nuestro país. / The main objective of the present investigation is to determine whether imports of Chinese footwear of item 6404190000 had an impact on production in the footwear sector in the producing companies of Metropolitan Lima during the 2015-2017 period. In our country the Peruvian footwear culture comes from a system of non-professional people. With the passage of time this group has not achieved its specialization, because despite the opening to new international markets, the absence of financial support has not allowed it to be at the forefront with technology to counteract the massive influx of Chinese footwear. Currently, the established production companies and with a won market, have begun to bet on technology, quality and innovation, which allows them to start to differentiate themselves from the great competition existing in our country, because we believe that the entry of footwear of origin China of item 6404190000, has unfavorably impacted producers because they are cheap and have better designs. Also, the commercial exchange between Peru and China has had an accelerated growth after the signing of the free trade agreement. Since after eight years of validity, the trade between both countries has been beneficial and for 2017, China became our main trading partner. Likewise, we mention informality as a serious problem in Peru, in which the footwear sector is no stranger, since three out of four companies decide to start their business on the road of informality. This is due to the high costs involved in being formal in our country. / Tesis