The relationship between formal and informal employment in South Africa

employment;unemployment;formal employment;informal employment;South Africa;developing country;poverty

Kay, David D. ; Baylis ; Katherine R.

关键词: employment;    unemployment;    formal employment;    informal employment;    South Africa;    developing country;    poverty;   

Others  :  https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/24306/Kay_David.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

美国|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Over the last several decades several theories have dominated debates about the nature of informal employment in developing countries. The dualistic theory claims that the informal sector is a substitute for formal employment, the alternative theory claims that the informal sector is a compliment to formal employment, and the structural articulation theory claims that informal employment is both a substitute for and compliment to formal sector employment because heterogeneous groups exist within the informal sector. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence that heterogeneous sub-sectors do exist within South Africa’s informal sector, and that the Structural Articulation theory, with its focus on dynamic and static sub-sectors, is the most appropriate framework to adopt when thinking about informal employment in South Africa . Furthermore, the study also adds to the literature by providing evidence that a national poverty line can be used to identify the dynamic and static sub-groupings within South Africa’s informal sector. Finally, I suggest that the existence of heterogeneous sub-groupings implies the need to better target policy interventions for the informal sector.