Thesis (M.Inst.Agrar.)(Agricultural Economics)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Tesis para optar al grado de Doctor en Economía / No disponible a texto completo / La presente tesis recopila tres investigaciones acerca de dos fenómenos que caracterizan a un amplio grupo de países del mundo: la evasión fiscal y la existencia de un sector subterráneo. La estructura sigue un orden lógico que inicia su proceso en la generación de evidencia empírica que pudiera retroalimentar la creación de un esquema teórico. Esta decisión se basó principalmente en que la evidencia empírica que apoya este campo de la economía es bastante escasa. Así, en el Capítulo 1 “Causas e Implicancias de la Economía Subterránea: Nueva Evidencia Empírica”, se utilizan técnicas econométricas en una base de datos de corte transversal con información de 145 países para generar una serie de hechos estilizados que permiten respaldar los supuestos bajos los cuales se estructuran los dos capítulos finales. Estos ejercicios numéricos toman en cuenta dos dificultades que subyacen y son identificadas en la primera parte del capítulo, las cuales son la definición y medición de la economía subterránea.

Stokvels have been around in South Africa for many years and they are a way that people motivate each other to save. The study explored the operations of stokvels in order to identify features of stokvels that make them successful and why they remain popular in Black communities even with people who have access to formal financial institutions. The study further explored if there were gender preferences for stokvel groups and the reasons thereof. Exploratory research in the form of three focus groups was conducted with women stokvels in Venda in the Limpopo province, South Africa. All the groups have been in existence between seven and thirty years. The women were asked questions to determine why they choose to participate in stokvels and also what it takes to make the groups successful. The study found that the success of stokvels is that they are driven by a purpose which is beyond money, they exist to assist the members improve their lives. The members take the rules seriously because they do not want to disappoint each other. Trust and social capital were found to be critical in ensuring success. The women said that stokvels forced them to save through peer pressure, and they appreciated the relationships that they were able to foster in the stokvels. Those who had no access to formal financial institutions found that the stokvels gave them access to funds that they would not otherwise have thereby making it possible for them to achieve a higher standard of living. Women were found to prefer other women as members in their stokvels groups. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Informal markets are recognised as presenting lucrative business opportunities for the private sector. However, informal markets function by a different set of rules when compared to the formal sector, and so require a different paradigm altogether. The approach proposed in this report sees the convergence of conventional micro economics with development economics and the theories of sustainable development.A community is used as the unit of analysis for the informal market. A model is proposed that uses the sustainable livelihoods framework to describe the various elements of the community as a system, and how these interact to produce desired outcomes. This study was designed from the perspective of measuring the informal market. Measurement allows quantification and qualification of the phenomenon of the informal market and allows for more effective decision making. The conceptual model was therefore developed to gain a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon to be measured. A systems perspective is taken to develop a high-level framework for indicator selection. This is considered to be the first, in a series of steps, towards developing indicators for the informal market, and even a single composite indicator for the informal market.A small sample of experts was interviewed to explore the informal economy from their own observation and experience. The insights shared in the interviews pointed to the applicability of the proposed model to informal markets, and demonstrated the complexity of these markets. A number of further research opportunities can be explored to further develop this concept. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The study aims to alert policy makers and planners in the City of Johannesburg to the problems and coping mechanisms which undermines the business performance of female street vendors in the informal economy. The research made use of twelve in-depth interviews with male and female street vendors and alluded to the reality faced by females relative to males. In addition, five interviews were conducted with leaders of organisations representing the informal sector. The findings suggest that female traders are burdened with responsibilities of child and family care which can limit the extent of their trading. Furthermore they have little access to finance and capital to expand their businesses. More women were found to be victims of crime and they experienced a sense of helplessness at the hands of criminals. Other problems experienced by both male and female traders include: inadequate trading spaces, infrastructural challenges and harassment by the Metro Police. The research concludes that the formation of street vendor co-operatives (similar to those that have been successful elsewhere), education and training, and more balanced enforcement of municipal by-laws may alleviate some of the challenges. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

In spite of the fact that informal traders in the informal economy are viewed as having the greatest prospects for creating jobs and absorbing the unemployed in developing countries, informal traders in Limpopo Province in general, and the city of Polokwane in particular, face various constraints that negatively affect them on a daily basis. The aim of the study has been to explore the constraints and opportunities of informal traders, using the city of Polokwane as a case study. The study has attempted to identify and describe constraints that affect informal traders in the Polokwane city, as well as factors that can enhance their development and growth. The study is exploratory, descriptive and qualitative in nature. Semi-structured faceto-face interviews were conducted to gather data. Findings of the study suggest that the government should improve the effectiveness of its support mechanisms by initiating targeted support programmes specifically tailored for informal traders at the survivalist level.

This work is a study of the relationship between frame, infill, and earth. A search of structure defining space through threshold. Ultimately, it proposes a structural frame as a collection of rooms. / Master of Architecture

Background The process of mainstreaming the informal sector into the formal sector in Kenya has been considered and evaluated from as early as the 1970 as a means of poverty reduction and job creation. Information available on mainstreaming from the formal sector and government in Kenya indicate that both these sectors appreciate the value of mainstreaming the informal sector, however both parties have been unable to successfully mainstream the informal sector into the formal sector more than 40 years on. The relationship between the three sectors has also been reviewed and both the formal and government sector are cognizant of the need to create an enabling environment that would foster the mainstreaming process through an appropriate legal and regulatory framework. Methods The study follows a case study approach underpinned by an interpretive foundation. An extensive published literature, secondary data on the informal sector and grey-literature search on mainstreaming was conducted between 2006 and 2010. Between 2007 and 2008 a survey was conducted a threepronged approach to allow independent surveys of the informal sector as represented by the three largest jua kali (Kiswahili words for 'hot sun' which signifies outdoor exposure characterising the informal sector trade) markets in Kenya, namely Gikomba, Kariobangi and Kawangware. The government institutions mandated with various responsibilities for the informal sector as represented by blue chip companies on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), today known as The Nairobi Securities Exchange and the government sector represents the formal sector. Stringent criteria were applied to select the sample data where random sampling was used for the informal sector in the three named markets. Survey sample size for the informal sector was 539. The survey was conducted between 2007-2008. The survey for the selected blue chip companies was conducted in 2008. The findings from the survey precipitated the need to conduct a survey within the government sector, specifically with the government bodies and ministries with the mandate to facilitate the development of the jua kali sector. Face to face interviews using open-ended questionnaires was used to collect the data and identify opportunities for mainstreaming and integration amongst the three sectors. The effects of this association was interrogated and evaluated in order to identify opportunities that can establish a sustainable and long-term mainstreaming process for the informal sector in Kenya.

Includes bibliographical references. / The presented dissertation studies informal and nonformal educational processes within three community organisations, which have formed a part of a broader social movement in Cape Town at a particular historic 'moment'. The specific aim of the study has been to describe and explain the self-educational practices within community organisations at a particular historical juncture. Self-education is defined as a conscious strategy which is used by members of community organisations to develop the capabilities of their own membership to participate fully in the management and administration of their organisations. The study therefore focuses on strategies used within community organisations for the imparting of participatory democratic leadership skills. The study is illuminative and explanatory rather than evaluative. The findings of the study show that education for democratic participation is a central concern for the organisations and for community adult educators internationally. However the investigation has revealed that 'democratic participation' has a wide range of meanings which are continuously negotiated and contested. They are determined by a range of economic, political, social, historical and ideological forces at a particular 'moment'. Essential components for both the practice and the analysis of education for democratic participation were found to be action which can consist of either service delivery or political action or both; democratic participatory practices, which entail collective participation in decision-making, in planning and evaluation, sharing of information and skills, and joint responsibility for staff appointments; coherent theoretical knowledge if the organisation to is maintain an advocacy role in the community. The five analytical tools which were developed for the investigation, namely 'action', 'critical reflection', 'theoretical knowledge', 'participatory democratic processes' and the 'relationship between macro and micro organisational contexts', provided useful mechanisms for probing the political and social theories imbedded within the organisations. The importance of the 'tools' was that they focused attention on some of the major contradictions within nonformal and informal education within community organisations. The 'tools' also captured the dynamic, dialectical processes which are ·integral to the educational practices within community organisations. While the study did not set out to develop analytical tools which would have wider, more general usage in the analysis of community adult education, this has been a significant outcome of the research.

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.