Contrapunto: The Informal Sector Debate in Latin AmericaCathy A. Rakowski SUNY Press, 1994 M01 1 - 336 pages The informal sector denotes the small-scale, unprotected, and loosely regulated activities and self-employment that proliferate in developing countries. This book is about the people who engage in informal activities and the people who study, interpret, intervene in, promote, or attempt to repress or regulate the sector. The authors bring together and evaluate for the first time competing theories, policies, and research findings on the informal sector, dealing with issues of power, ideology, and politics; basic research, applied research, program evaluation, and policymaking; exploitation, entrepreneurship, and opportunity; and poverty and the accumulation of wealth. |
Contents
Introduction What Debate? | 3 |
The Informal Sector Debate Part 1 19701983 | 11 |
The Informal Sector Debate Part 2 19841993 | 31 |
The Many Roles of the Informal Sector in Development Evidence from Urban Labor Market Research 19401989 | 51 |
Macro Level Policy Issues | 73 |
The Impact of Government Policies on Microenterprise Development Conclusions from Empirical Studies | 75 |
Macroeconomic Policy and the Informal Sector | 91 |
When More Can Be Less Labor Standards Development and the Informal Economy | 113 |
Training and Technical Assistance for Small and Microenterprise A Discussion of Their Effectiveness | 199 |
A Closer Look at Poverty Planning and Power | 221 |
Informality and Poverty Causal Relationship or Coincidence? | 223 |
Transaction Costs Formal Plans and Formal Informality Alternatives to the Informal Sector | 251 |
Conclusion | 271 |
Contrapunto Policy Research and the Role of the State | 273 |
| 289 | |
Contributors | 321 |
Informality de Soto Style From Concept to Policy | 131 |
Inside Informal Sector Policies in Latin America An Economists View | 153 |
Micro Level Intervention Issues | 175 |
The Role of Governments and Private Institutions in Addressing the Informal Sector in Latin America | 177 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ACCION ACCION International Alejandro Portes approach benefits Bromley Cartaya Castells chapter Colombia competition concept constraints credit programs debate demand developing countries domestic economic growth economists Ecuador entrepreneurs expansion factors focus formal sector Hernando de Soto impact implementation important income increase industry sectors informal activities Informal Economy informal employment informal sec informal sector informal sector notion institutions intervention issues labor force labor market labor standards Latin America Liedholm macroeconomic macroeconomic policy Manuel Castells manufacturing Márquez ment Mexico microenterprise development modern sector Moser NGOs nomic Oliveira and Roberts organizations Otero percent Peru planning poor households Portes potential poverty alleviation PREALC problems production projects promote Rakowski rates regulations role Sector Informal segmentation self-employed small enterprises small firms solidarity group Soto Soto's strategy studies subcontracting technical assistance Third World tion Tokman transaction costs urban Uzzell Venezuela wage women