Informal markets for electricity: economics of lighting for hawkers in India

This volume reviews the nature and scope of informal financial markets in developing countries and elaborates on the theoretical and conceptual models which analyse 'financial repression' and other aspects of government intervention in financial markets. It also focuses on the consequences which the prevalence of informal financial markets in developing countries may have for monetary and exchange rate policy. In particular, it attempts to capture the functioning of informal, unregulated markets into macroeconomic models, working towards a general eqUilibrium model with informal financial markets. Two types of informal markets are analysed. The first are for informal lending at terms and conditions which differ greatly from those prevailing in the official banking system. The second are the 'parallel' markets for foreign exchange which tend to emerge in response to quantity restrictions on trade and administered allocation of foreign exchange to certain users at official rates, which are well below those on the parellel markets. The key question is whether these informal markets change the efficacy of monetary and credit policy-and, if they do, to what extent and in what direction? Two supporting appendices present econometric analyses of the efficiency of parallel currency markets and the degree of capital mobility in developing countries.

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Why do informal markets remain informal: the role of tacit knowledge in an Indian footwear cluster

Journal of Evolutionary Economics ◽

10.1007/s00191-021-00726-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yugank Goyal ◽

Klaus Heine

Keyword(s):

Tacit Knowledge ◽

Informal Markets ◽

Market Institutions ◽

Market Structures ◽

Long Run ◽

External Pressures ◽

Propositional Form ◽

The City

AbstractWhy do informal markets resist formalizing, even when the gains of doing so outweigh its costs in the long run? While a number of responses to this question have been advanced, we discover that part of the reason could be located in the tacit knowledge (attributed to Polanyi, Hayek) embedded in the marketplace, on which market institutions run. This factor is not fully explored yet. Tacit (idiosyncratic, inarticulate, nonconscious) knowledge is acquired personally through experience and cannot be transferred or conveyed to anyone. This is the knowledge we use to act without knowing it in a propositional form. We present the case of one of India’s largest informal footwear cluster, located in the city of Agra. We show that informal markets, hinged on tacit knowledge, cannot evolve easily and therefore may remain locked-in, despite external pressures or incentives to formalize. The study shows that efforts to overcome informality and reaping the benefits of formalized market structures cannot be done without taking cognizance of the sticky intangible knowledge on which these markets rest.

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Border Layers: Formal and Informal Markets Along the India-Bangladesh Border

Borders and Mobility in South Asia and Beyond ◽

10.1017/9789048535224.003 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 59-80

Author(s):

Edward Boyle ◽

Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman

Keyword(s):

Informal Markets

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“Give Us the Chance to Be Part of You, We Want Our Voices to Be Heard”: Assistive Technology as a Mediator of Participation in (Formal and Informal) Citizenship Activities for Persons with Disabilities Who Are Slum Dwellers in Freetown, Sierra Leone

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115547 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5547

Author(s):

Victoria Austin ◽

Cathy Holloway ◽

Ignacia Ossul Vermehren ◽

Abs Dumbuya ◽

Giulia Barbareschi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Assistive Technology ◽

Sierra Leone ◽

World Health Organisation ◽

World Health ◽

Capacity Assessment ◽

Informal Markets ◽

Major Barrier ◽

Deep Dive ◽

Persons With Disabilities ◽

Slum Dwellers

The importance of assistive technology (AT) is gaining recognition, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) set to publish a Global Report in 2022. Yet little is understood about access for the poorest, or the potential of AT to enable this group to participate in the activities of citizenship; both formal and informal. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore AT as mediator of participation in citizenship for persons with disabilities who live in two informal settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone (SL). The paper presents evidence from 16 participant and 5 stakeholder interviews; 5 focus groups and 4 events; combining this with the findings of a house-to-house AT survey; and two national studies—a country capacity assessment and an informal markets deep-dive. Despite citizenship activities being valued, a lack of AT was consistently reported and hindered participation. Stigma was also found to be a major barrier. AT access for the poorest must be addressed if citizenship participation for persons with disabilities is a genuine global intention and disability justice is to become a reality.

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