informal economies and gender global trends and kenya evidence

Informal Economies and GenderGlobal trends and Kenya evidence

CEMUS 8 October 2012

Asa Torkelsson

Overview•Informal economy – definition and

manifestation•Global trends on gender and informal

sector•The connection between gender and the

informal economy•Women’s work in informal economies•Strategies to reduce the gaps: Gender and

microfinance

Informal sector - manifestations and importance

• Definition: lack of firm registration, no social security coverage, no employment contract (WDR 2013)

• “Extra-legal” (WDR), sub-terranean economy (Gutman), hidden economy (Feige), underground economy (Tanzi), parallell economy (del Boca), bazaar economy (Geertz), ‘second economy’ (Maliyamkono and Bagachwa)

• Emerging recognition of huge importance (Neuwirth, Sida)

• Existing evidence weak – tricky and methodologically difficult to access data

General characteristics (ILO 1972)•Ease of entry•Reliance of indigenous resources•Family ownership•Small-scale•Labour-intensive•Non formal skills•Unregulated markets

Global Evidence, WDR 2013 on jobs

World Bank, World Development Report 2013

Doing Business 2012 Kenya

World Bank, World Development Report 2013

World Bank, World Development Report 2013

World Bank, World Development Report 2013

Theoretical Framework

Torkelsson and Tassew, Quantifying Women’s and Men’s Resource PortfoliosEuropean Journal of Development Research 2008

World Bank, Wold Development Report 2012

The ’Informality Chain’ of Potatoe in Kenya

Some Strategies to Enhance Women’s Economic Empowerment

Source: Karanja and Torkelsson (2012), Filling the Rural Data Gap in Kenya, World Bak.

Note: Torkelsson and Karanja, World Bank draft 2012. Preliminary analyses using KAPAP household data.

Thank you