The Informal Sector and Rural-Urban Migration - A Chinese Case Study

During the second half of the twentieth century, Ecuador went through an intense rural-urban migration that drove a significant increase in the demand for housing units. Insufficient government response resulted in great housing deficit in all the cities. Later, this triggered the formation of pro housing organizations across the country, which looked for quick solutions for the poorest working class. Since the 70s, economic changes driven by the oil boom also contributed to said housing deficit increase along with the growth of urban informality in many cities. Although self-build and self-management housing production fostered urban sprawl over unserved peripheral land, cooperativism became an alternative to tackle the growing scarcity. However, the case of Alianza Solidaria Housing Cooperative stands out among the numerous social organizations that aimed for better living conditions. It developed an alternative for housing production in the periphery of Quito based on a comprehensive vision about habitat, self-management, solidarity-based economy and cooperativism.

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Exploring Policy Options in Regulating Rural–Urban Migration with a Bayesian Network: A Case Study in Kazakhstan

European Journal of Development Research ◽

10.1057/s41287-020-00280-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Dufhues ◽

Gertrud Buchenrieder ◽

Zhanli Sun

Keyword(s):

Bayesian Network ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Policy Options ◽

Rural Urban Migration

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Informality, Growth, and Development in Africa

The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199687114.013.11 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 619-636

Author(s):

Ahmadou Aly Mbaye ◽

Nancy Benjamin

Keyword(s):

Informal Sector ◽

Tax Evasion ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Size Structure ◽

Institutional Context ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Earnings Differentials ◽

Informal Labor ◽

Rural Urban Migration

This chapter begins with an overview of the major approaches and potential limitations of defining the informal sector, followed by an analysis of its size, structure, and institutional context. It then considers the taxation of informal firms and notes the pervasiveness of tax evasion in the informal sector, along with state failures and informal employment, earnings differentials between formal and informal actors, and the role of rural–urban migration in the rise of informal labor force in developing countries. The chapter explores why informality is so pervasive in Africa; why informal firms are less productive than their formal counterparts; whether it is best for development to proceed in order to get informal firms to register and pay formal taxes; and how to help informal firms and those employed in the informal sector. Finally, it discusses a good approach to development that takes into account the existence of the informal sector.

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