The Informal Sector as a Catalyst for Employment Generation in Lagos State, Nigeria

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akeem Ayofe Akinwale

Abstract Unemployment remains high in Nigeria due to disintegration between the formal and informal sectors, among other factors. While the unemployed largely focus on the formal sector in search of jobs, there is inadequate interest in the informal sector. Yet, this sector provides livelihoods for the majority of the population. This paper examines the informal sector as a catalyst for generating employment in Lagos State, Nigeria, using the Social Capital Theory and a descriptive survey research design. Data were collected from 480 apprentices, 40 masters, 20 journeymen, and 120 members of various communities through a structured questionnaire, Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions, respectively. The findings showed that 64.8 percent of the respondents reported parental sponsorship of vocations in the informal sector, 14.2 percent of the respondents were self-sponsored, and the remainders (18.5 percent and 2.5 percent) were reportedly sponsored by their relatives and masters. Awareness of opportunities for self employment in the informal sector was demonstrated by 71 percent of the respondents. However, 66.3 percent of the respondents thought that schooling could be better than vocations in the informal sector. Mothers’ occupation significantly associated with individuals’ choice of vocation in the informal sector (χ2= 33.71; P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the proposed plans for self employment among the respondents in furniture and tailoring workshops (χ2= 1.44; P > 0.05). Planning for self employment was significantly influenced by several factors including gender, age, mothers’ occupation, career plan, and satisfaction within the informal sector (t = 19.247, P < 0.01). The informal sector is vital for survival of youth in Lagos State, Nigeria. This sector should be supported for poverty eradication and entrepreneurial development.

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler W. Myroniuk ◽  
Reeve Vanneman ◽  
Sonalde Desai

In the classic formulations of social capital theory, families employ their social capital resources to enhance other capitals, in particular their human capital investments. Social capital would seem to be especially important in the case of India, where, in recent years, higher education has been under considerable stress with rising educational demand, inadequate supply, and little parental experience to guide children's transition through the education system. We use the 2005 and 2012 waves of the nationally representative India Human Development Survey (IHDS) to show how relatively high-status connections advantage some families' chances of their children reaching educational milestones such as secondary school completion and college entry. The 2005 IHDS survey measure of a household's formal sector contacts in education, government, and health predicts their children's educational achievements by the second wave, seven years later, controlling for households' and children's initial backgrounds.


Author(s):  
Mohd Mahzan Awang ◽  
Jalal Deen Careemdeen

This study aims at identifying the level of social capital to improve soft skills among university students in Malaysia. Social capital construct based on Putnam's [1] social capital theory. Social capital in this research refers to students' participation in community-based activities and university's clubs. Soft skills construct included university students' communication, leadership, teamwork, continuous learning, critical thinking, ethics and professionalism, and entrepreneurship skills. This study is a survey research design using a questionnaire instrument for data collection. The sample was chosen randomly, participating in a total of 264 university students in Malaysia. The study used descriptive analyses such as mean, standard deviation, t-test, and Pearson Correlation to analyze the data. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 23 was used for the data analysis The findings of study demonstrated that the majority of university students had moderate levels of both constructs, namely social capital and soft skills. Results from this study revealed that there was no significant difference in social capital based on Gender. However, the results of the study found there is a significant difference in soft skills based on Gender. Accordingly,' it has been found that male students had a higher soft skill compared to female students. Correlation analysis demonstrated that there was a significant positive relationship between social capital and soft skills. Overall, this study suggests the importance of social capital towards soft skills development.


Author(s):  
Abimbola Foluso OJAPINWA,

This study investigated the effect of self-efficacy on self-employment intentions of recent graduates. Using the descriptive survey research design, the study population includes National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members of Ojo Local Government area of Lagos state. A sample of 130 was selected using the purposive sampling technique. The formulated hypotheses were tested using the simple linear regression and the independent sample t-test. The results showed that there was a statistically significant influence of self-efficacy on self-employment intention of Corps members of Ojo local government, Lagos state. A significant regression coefficient was found F (1.128)=29.72, p<.05), with R2 of .19. This presupposes that19.0% of the variance in self-employment intentions is as a result of the self-efficacy of recent graduates. Also, a statistically significant difference in the self-employment intentions were found between male and female corps members (tcal(128) = 2.11 is greater than ttab=1.98, p < .05). The study therefore recommended, amongst others, that institutions and the government should educate and devise a means by which they can increase the level of graduates and students’ self-efficacy which in turn will help shape their intention towards shaping career options after graduation. Similarly, effective entrepreneurship education and training for students and graduates to enhance their efficacy in performing specific tasks and roles of an entrepreneur will go a long way in boosting their self-employment intention and also aids them towards post graduate job creation ability rather than job seekers


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oladipupo Salau ◽  
Lalita Sen ◽  
Samuel Osho ◽  
Oluwatoyin Adejonwo-Osho

Municipalities in metropolitan cities of developing countries often find it difficult to cope with the onerous task of providing waste services to their citizens due to financial constraints and poor infrastructure.  In most of these cities, waste collection services are grossly inadequate as less than half the population is served with regular and efficient waste services.  However, the shortcomings of the formal waste management system are compensated by the activities of the informal sector engaged in waste collection and make significant contributions to the MWMS through material recovery and waste recycling. In view of this, the study focuses on the roles of the formal and informal sector in municipal waste management with regards to their impacts on the recycling rate of Lagos State. In this study, we measured and compared the recycling rates between the formal and informal sectors to determine their impacts on the recycling rates of Lagos State. The study relies on primary field data, site visits and observations backed by secondary sources to investigate the range of informal sector activities in comparison to the formal sector. The findings indicate that, while both sub-sectors play significant roles in the MWMS, the informal recycling activities contribute more to the recycling rate of Lagos state than the formal sector.


1980 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Todd ◽  
Christopher Shaw

Late in 1979 the Zambian Government unveiled its Third National Development Plan which will guide policies until the year 1984, and this implies that problems of unemployment, particularly in urban areas, will be partly overcome by an expansion of self-employment possibilities.Such was the enthusiasm for the new initiative that the absence of reliable information surrounding it was largely ignored. This article attempts to provide relevant data concerning a number of issues which will be vital in implementing any measures to encourage self-employment in the so-called ‘informal sector’ of the Zambian economy. In particular we shall endeavour to quantify the likely flows into the labour force, particularly from the educational system, the possible growth of formal wage employment in urban areas, and the current size and composition of the informal sector. Finally, conclusions are drawn concerning the possible rôle of this sector in absorbing the unemployed in the plan period.


Media Trend ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Yustina - Chrismardani ◽  
Bondan Satriawan

<p>One of the interesting things studied from Kabupaten Bangkalan is the aspect of employment, especially based on formal and informal sector. Based on the formal sector workers who belong to the category of workers / workers and tried to be assisted by permanent workers / workers paid up to 76 percent, and informal workers are who try their own, trying to be assisted by temporary workers, free workers in agriculture, free workers in non-paid to reach 24 percent. Other important findings indicate that there is no significant difference in the total income of workers in the formal and formal sectors, which is an average of Rp 76,184, and it turns out that Bangkalan regency has not been the target of workers migration from the surrounding area.</p><p> </p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gorah Kassim Abdallah

Purpose Small businesses growth has become an important area of study in the field of entrepreneurship. This paper aims to extend the inquiry by investigating whether there is a significant difference in growth between firms from the formal sector and the informal sector in the least developing countries (LDCs), particularly Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach A survey strategy as well as non-probability sampling are used. The sampling included 50 formal and 61 informal small businesses from the furniture industry. Data collected were evaluated using chi square and compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) techniques. Findings The results indicate that firms from the formal sector do not grow faster than firms from the informal sector. on the contrary, our tests reveal that firms from the informal sector predominantly grow faster than firms from the formal sector. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in Tanzania which is just one of the 48 LDCs in the world. Second, the literature that is used predominantly applies to developed countries. Third, the field work dependent on the respondent’s perception. Finally, change of measurement scale from five to three is ought to have contributed to mixed findings. Practical implications The overall implications are that external factors like inadequate regulatory tax systems may affect growth of formal small businesses and thus influence market opportunities for informal small businesses. Further, internal factors like inefficiencies of workers from formal enterprises may affect growth and therefore create more opportunities for informal enterprises. Originality/value Exploring differences between firms from the formal sector and the informal sector, and the way five scales were aggregated into three scales in the methodology.


Author(s):  
EL HASSANIA RAHOU ◽  
AHMED TAQI

Recognizing the heterogeneity of informal microentrepreneurs, this paper assesses the determinants of their willingness to enter the formal sector. Based on human capital theory and social capital theory, we test the hypothesis that firm decision-making regarding formalization is a function of the nature of the informal microentrepreneur. Using data collected from 500 informal microentrepreneurs in Morocco, and employing a logistic regression model, we find that higher education level, motivation by business opportunity, entrepreneurship training, work experience, gender and the importance of social networks have an impact on the desire to formalize. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications.


2018 ◽  
pp. 145-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary S. Fields

The purpose of this chapter is to assess the compatibility between theoretical models of the urban informal sector (UIS) and empirical evidence on the workings of that sector in the context of developing countries’ labour markets. The major point is that, although the UIS is an excellent idea which has served us well in the 1970s and 1980s, there is a need in the next round of research to refine the terminology and the models in light of empirical findings which have come to the fore in the interim. Wage employment or self-employment in small-scale units may be better than or worse than employment in the formal sector. This is not a new point: diversity of earning opportunities and other job characteristics within the informal sector has long been noted. But only recently has this view come to the fore.


Subject Defining the informal sector in Latin America. Significance Although variable across the region, the so-called ‘informal sector’ has long been a structural characteristic of most Latin American societies. However, its measurement has long proved problematic as, indeed, has its definition. Business organisations have argued that informality needs to be tackled by reducing the barriers to access to the ‘formal’ sector, while others have maintained that it is a problem of reinforcing property rights. Impacts Informality will encourage further migration, often overseas. The divide between extra-legal and illegal activity will remain blurred, like that between self-employment and informality. Countries with large informal sectors will be obliged to embrace them rather than reject them.


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