The Long Shadow of Informality

The Long Shadow of Informality
Author: Franziska Ohnsorge
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2022-02-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464817545

A large percentage of workers and firms operate in the informal economy, outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies. This may hold back the recovery in these economies from the deep recessions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic--unless governments adopt a broad set of policies to address the challenges of widespread informality. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the extent of informality and its implications for a durable economic recovery and for long-term development. It finds that pervasive informality is associated with significantly weaker economic outcomes--including lower government resources to combat recessions, lower per capita incomes, greater poverty, less financial development, and weaker investment and productivity.

Food Into Cities

Food Into Cities
Author: Olivio Argenti
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2000
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789251044780

The rapid growth of African cities means they have a great challenge in ensuring an adequate supply of food to satisfy their nutritional needs in terms of quantity, variety and taste, at accessible/affordable prices. Food supply and distribution systems (FSDS), whether formal or informal, are a key element. An efficient FSDS can increase the availability of food to the urban consumer, and at the same time increase the revenues of both traders and producers. However, there are a number of constraints that impede the efficiency of FSDS and these are discussed in the papers in this Bulletin that address the whole issue of food supply and food security. They are addressed towards urban managers and planners together with professionals and researchers concerned with urban food security.

The Global Informal Workforce

The Global Informal Workforce
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2021-07-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513575910

The Global Informal Workforce is a fresh look at the informal economy around the world and its impact on the macroeconomy. The book covers interactions between the informal economy, labor and product markets, gender equality, fiscal institutions and outcomes, social protection, and financial inclusion. Informality is a widespread and persistent phenomenon that affects how fast economies can grow, develop, and provide decent economic opportunities for their populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to uncover the vulnerabilities of the informal workforce.

Formal and Informal Approaches to Food Policy

Formal and Informal Approaches to Food Policy
Author: William Aspray
Publisher: Springer Science & Business
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2014-04-17
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319049666

Formal approaches are those taken by government bodies through laws, court decisions and actions of government regulatory bodies. Informal approaches are those taken by individuals, non profit organizations, industries working at self-regulation, etc. Because the formal means are tied to a particular legal system, this kind of approach is nation-specific and the book focuses on the United States. But many of the things the authors have to say about US food policy and the interactions between formal and informal approaches would also be of interest to policymakers and food industry professionals in other countries. Coverage includes the regulation of food advertising on children's television and the internet, regulation of school lunch programs and the influence of Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama.

The Informal Economy Revisited

The Informal Economy Revisited
Author: Martha Chen
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2020-07-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0429575386

This landmark volume brings together leading scholars in the field to investigate recent conceptual shifts, research findings and policy debates on the informal economy as well as future challenges and directions for research and policy. Well over half of the global workforce and the vast majority of the workforce in developing countries work in the informal economy, and in countries around the world new forms of informal employment are emerging. Yet the informal workforce is not well understood, remains undervalued and is widely stigmatised. Contributors to the volume bridge a range of disciplinary perspectives including anthropology, development economics, law, political science, social policy, sociology, statistics, urban planning and design. The Informal Economy Revisited also focuses on specific groups of informal workers, including home-based workers, street vendors and waste pickers, to provide a grounded insight into disciplinary debates. Ultimately, the book calls for a paradigm shift in how the informal economy is perceived to reflect the realities of informal work in the Global South, as well as the informal practices of the state and capital, not just labour. The Informal Economy Revisited is the culmination of 20 years of pioneering work by WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing), a global network of researchers, development practitioners and organisations of informal workers in 90 countries. Researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and advocates will all find this book an invaluable guide to the significance and complexities of the informal economy, and its role in today’s globalised economy. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429200724, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Agrobiodiversity

Agrobiodiversity
Author: Karl S. Zimmerer
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2023-10-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262549697

Experts discuss the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and conservation, integrating disciplines that range from plant and biological sciences to economics and political science. Wide-ranging environmental phenomena—including climate change, extreme weather events, and soil and water availability—combine with such socioeconomic factors as food policies, dietary preferences, and market forces to affect agriculture and food production systems on local, national, and global scales. The increasing simplification of food systems, the continuing decline of plant species, and the ongoing spread of pests and disease threaten biodiversity in agriculture as well as the sustainability of food resources. Complicating the situation further, the multiple systems involved—cultural, economic, environmental, institutional, and technological—are driven by human decision making, which is inevitably informed by diverse knowledge systems. The interactions and linkages that emerge necessitate an integrated assessment if we are to make progress toward sustainable agriculture and food systems. This volume in the Strüngmann Forum Reports series offers insights into the challenges faced in agrobiodiversity and sustainability and proposes an integrative framework to guide future research, scholarship, policy, and practice. The contributors offer perspectives from a range of disciplines, including plant and biological sciences, food systems and nutrition, ecology, economics, plant and animal breeding, anthropology, political science, geography, law, and sociology. Topics covered include evolutionary ecology, food and human health, the governance of agrobiodiversity, and the interactions between agrobiodiversity and climate and demographic change.

Revisiting the Informal Sector

Revisiting the Informal Sector
Author: Sarbajit Chaudhuri
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2009-10-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1441911944

This book provides insight into the diverse aspects of the informal sector, its role in the context of unemployment, child labor, globalization and environment, as well as its multi-faceted interaction with the other sectors of the economy.

Integrating Food into Urban Planning

Integrating Food into Urban Planning
Author: Yves Cabannes
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2018-11-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 178735377X

The integration of food into urban planning is a crucial and emerging topic. Urban planners, alongside the local and regional authorities that have traditionally been less engaged in food-related issues, are now asked to take a central and active part in understanding how food is produced, processed, packaged, transported, marketed, consumed, disposed of and recycled in our cities. While there is a growing body of literature on the topic, the issue of planning cities in such a way they will increase food security and nutrition, not only for the affluent sections of society but primarily for the poor, is much less discussed, and much less informed by practices. This volume, a collaboration between the Bartlett Development Planning Unit at UCL and the Food Agricultural Organisation, aims to fill this gap by putting more than 20 city-based experiences in perspective, including studies from Toronto, New York City, Portland and Providence in North America; Milan in Europe and Cape Town in Africa; Belo Horizonte and Lima in South America; and, in Asia, Bangkok and Tokyo. By studying and comparing cities of different sizes, from both the Global North and South, in developed and developing regions, the contributors collectively argue for the importance and circulation of global knowledge rooted in local food planning practices, programmes and policies.

Food Security in Africa

Food Security in Africa
Author: Barakat Mahmoud
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2021-01-20
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1789857333

This edited volume “Food Security in Africa” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of food safety and availability, water issues, farming and nutrition. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the public health and food security research area. All chapters are complete in itself but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on Africa’s food security challenges, quality of water, small-scale farming as well as economic and social challenges that this continent is facing. Hopefully, this volume will open new possible research paths for further novel developments.