Informal Workers and the State: The Politics of Connection and Disconnection During a Global Pandemic

Gallien, Max; Boogaard, Vanessa van den

doi:10.19088/ids.2021.066

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…In practice, however, these benefits often do not materialize: revenue is typically much more limited than expected, outcomes are often unfair, and firm‐level benefits are often not forthcoming (Bruhn and McKenzie, 2014; Gallien et al., 2021; Joshi et al., 2014; Moore, 2020; Pimhidzai and Fox, 2012). These disappointing outcomes are rooted in part in broader issues with how formalization processes and the informal economy are conceptualized and operationalized.…”

Section: Linking Conceptual Foundations To Empirical Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formalization and its Discontents: Conceptual Fallacies and Ways Forward

Gallien¹,

Boogaard²

2023

Development and Change

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The concept of formalization has long underpinned policy interventions and measures intended to connect informal entities with state institutions or formal economic structures. However, despite the policy enthusiasm, the outcomes of formalization policies have frequently been disappointing. This article argues that this disconnect lies in the concept of formalization itself and that common approaches to formalization are often rooted in three conceptual fallacies: a binary distinction between formal and informal economic actors, a lack of appreciation for the diversity of informal economic actors and the idea that ‘becoming’ formal necessarily spurs positive externalities. These conceptual confusions pay insufficient attention to contextual complexity and the political and social dynamics that shape informality in a given context and they are frequently rooted in the practicalities and power structures that shape knowledge creation in this area. This article demonstrates this through case studies of tax registration and property titling. Thus, it argues for a new research agenda on formalization that challenges both its conventional conceptual foundations and the practices of research that engage with it.

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Section: Linking Conceptual Foundations To Empirical Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formalization and its Discontents: Conceptual Fallacies and Ways Forward

Gallien¹,

Boogaard²

2023

Development and Change

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“…Informal workers have been particularly vulnerable to the health and economic impacts of the pandemic worldwide. Not only are they often at greater risk of infection because of their public-facing jobs or inability to adapt workplaces, but they also tend to have less access to social protection and a shallower safety net upon which to rely in hard times (Gallien and van den Boogaard 2021;WIEGO 2021). Evidence suggests, for instance, that almost 1.6 billion informal workers worldwide were affected by containment measures, while working in some of the hardest-hit sectors (ILO 2020;Schotte et al 2021).…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Phone surveys -the most relied upon technique during the pandemic -are particularly likely to exclude low-income populations, while informal workers often work in less visible spaces, while being represented, if at all, by associations that are less likely to be contacted by researchers. The corresponding risk is that greater policy attention is paid to the better-documented and more visible experiences of formal workers -and, indeed, evidence suggests that informal workers have often been neglected by policy responses to provide relief and social protection (Gallien and van den Boogaard 2021;van den Boogaard et al, forthcoming 2022).…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A group that is particularly hard to research through these methodological fixes are those that work in the informal sector in urban centres. Research with informal sector workers has presented challenges even in pre-pandemic times (Gallien 2021; Tellado, Lepori and Morla-Folch 2020; Vershinina and Rodionova 2011). Common issues have, for example, included difficulties in identifying and accessing the workers, creating a space for conversations that is safe and confidential, navigating demands on workers' time, and the complex power relationships between researchers, workers and, at times, interlocutors such as worker organisations or non-governmental organisations (NGOs).…”

Section: Researching Informality In Times Of Covid-19 In Lahorementioning

confidence: 99%

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2022

IDS Bulletin

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IDS BulletinThe Institute of Development Studies (IDS) delivers world-class research, learning, and teaching that transforms the knowledge, action, and leadership needed for more equitable and sustainable development globally. The IDS Bulletin is an open access, peer-review journal exploring emerging international development challenges. It is published in four issues per year and is the flagship publication of IDS. The IDS Bulletin aims to transform development knowledge through its unique thematic issues developed by global learning partnerships that bridge academic, practice, and policy discourse.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Distances that the Covid-19 Pandemic Magnified: Research on Informality and the State

et al. 2022

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What does research on informal sector workers and the state entail in the time of Covid-19? The pandemic has limited possibilities for in-person interactions and required adaptations in research approaches. These challenges are exacerbated when the subjects of the research are informal sector workers with limited access to technology and undefined spaces of work. In this article, we argue that the Covid-19 pandemic has magnified distances: between researchers located globally; between researchers and respondents; and between the state and people within informal employment. However, these distances also create new ways of working and opportunities for doing research. We discuss the challenges faced in the field, document the adaptations introduced to ensure robust research in difficult settings, and set out the limitations that remain. We also examine the ethical dimension of confronting dangerous misinformation related to the pandemic while conducting interviews, and the questions it raises about the distance between research and prescriptive advocacy in academia.

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Informal Workers and the State: The Politics of Connection and Disconnection During a Global Pandemic

Cited by 11 publications

References 36 publications

Formalization and its Discontents: Conceptual Fallacies and Ways Forward

Formalization and its Discontents: Conceptual Fallacies and Ways Forward

Untitled

The Distances that the Covid-19 Pandemic Magnified: Research on Informality and the State

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