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This study investigates the impact of institutional quality and banking competition on shadow economy for 127 economies for the period of 2005–2017. It further explores if institutional quality/competition shapes the relationship differently between banking competition/institutional quality and shadow economy. This paper uses the system GMM estimator to tackle potential omitted variable bias, endogeneity, and simultaneity issues. The findings suggest that overall, greater competition among banks and stricter institutions in the country reduce the size of shadow economy. Furthermore, impact of competition on shadow economy is even stronger in countries with weak institutions and the impact of institutional quality is greater in lower competitive environment. Only severe competition matters for shadow economy in case of developed countries. To sum up the novel findings of this research, competition and institutions complement each other in reducing the size of shadow economy. These findings are robust to different econometric estimators. The findings carry vital policy implications for the governments and regulators to play their part in reducing the shadow economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Labor informality and the formalization of employment have already been widely discussed. However, the problem remains on the public and government agendas at both the national and subnational levels. Objective: The objective is to assess the design of the public policy instruments that the government of Nuevo León has implemented (2015-2021) for the formalization of employment. The target population of the instruments are the Micro, Small and Medium enterprises of the state of Nuevo León. Method and technique: Firstly, a documentary research in secondary sources was carried out. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted with officials in charge of the public policy instruments for the formalization of employment. The people interviewed were: the Director of Support and Development for Small and Medium Enterprises of the Government of the State of Nuevo León; the Coordinator of the Service Center for Small and Medium Enterprises of the Government of the State of Nuevo León; the head of the State Commission for Regulatory Improvement of the Government of the State of Nuevo León; the Coordinator for the Promotion of the Impulsa Nuevo León Program; the Director of Planning and Public Policies of the Government of the State of Nuevo León; and the Director of the Economic Development Commission of the Nuevo León Council. To systematize the opinions of the interviewees, the ATLAS.ti computer program was used and the categories created are presented in Table 2. Finally, the ideology of the actors involved was contrasted with three key precepts of neoliberalism that were identified. Results: 1. The Government of Nuevo León does not have information about the number of jobs generated by the companies that receive government financial support. 2. The planning of public policy instruments is carried out, mainly, by the private sector. 3. The business chambers of Small and Medium Enterprises are the ones that are mainly involved. 4. Financial support is granted after companies go to the government to request it and there is no research and development. 5. Financial support is mainly concentrated in the formal Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises, but there is no updated registry. 6. Monitoring is carried out as long as the companies continue to attend to the offices of the government of Nuevo León. Conclusions: It is concluded that it is necessary to redesign the public policy instruments under the leadership of the government of Nuevo León and to link, specifically, the target population of the programs with the forms of state intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the strengths and bottlenecks of institutional capacity between social security institutions implementing the reform in Zambia, which focuses to provide social security to small-scale dairy farmers, a group of informal economy workers. Zambia's informal economy workers absorb over 80 per cent of the labour force. This is a qualitative study of institutional capacity in the extension of social security. Twenty-one interviews were conducted with participants from Farmers' Cooperatives (MCC), National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA), and Dairy Association of Zambia (DAZ). We selected participants through a purposive sampling technique. We reflected on data using a Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) built on thematic analysis. Analysis suggests that the institutions of the partnership are committed towards extending social security to informal economy workers. There was low involvement of local NAPSA officers in the project design and their role during implementation of the pension extension was unclear. This contributed to a lack of trust by some non-NAPSA members towards social security institutions. Knowledge and beliefs about the capabilities of implementers were essential in the activities for implementing the public policy on the extension of social security. However, there are several implementation lacunas concerning the process, its overarching infrastructure, and adequate human resources. There is a critical need to address gaps in process and procedures, equipment and materials, infrastructure, human resource, trust, and knowledge of context for the extension of social security to informal economy workers in Zambia. This could make the new public policy scheme more attainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cemeteries in the Philippines are usually under the jurisdiction of local government units (LGUs). Among their jurisdiction is managing cemetery workers. The cemetery workers being part of the informal sector are a concern for LGUs since activities within the sector are unknowledgeable to government policies and prone of noncompliance to it. Thus, the study is anchored on determining if cemetery workers of Baguio know the policies governing cemeteries. The study employed both a quantitative and qualitative design, particularly through surveyquestionnaires and interviews. The data shows that the respondents are moderately knowledgeable on the identified cemetery policies. This is because attached offices of Baguio LGU have a constant practice of communicating and orienting the workers on the cemetery policies. Although workers are moderately knowledgeable and the LGU exerts effort and initiatives in communicating with the cemetery workers, some problems still persist due to misinterpretation and stubbornness among the workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the use of assistive technology (AT) is crucial for the health and well-being of users, but there is a huge global problem of unmet need for AT. In this context informal (unregulated) providers of AT play a significant role of meeting AT user need, particularly in less-resourced settings. This study draws on research into formal and informal AT provision in low-income urban communities in Indonesia and Sierra Leone to explore the potential of informal providers in addressing unmet need. Specifically, it looks at the different performance of formal and informal providers regarding the availability and the adequacy of AT that they provide. The study concludes by proposing further research into the scope for coproduction of AT between formal and informal providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Motivation: The provision of health insurance is a public policy response to address the problem of catastrophic health expenditure, which leads to deprivation. Studies show a low uptake of health insurance among informal workers, but the focus has been on understanding enrolment behaviour. Little attention has been paid to understanding inactive membership among informal workers. Purpose: This article asks why informal workers in Kenya are abandoning health insurance schemes. It uses micro‐traders as a case study to understand inactive membership among voluntary contributors in Kenya's national health insurance scheme. Methods and approach: Based on primary data combining qualitative and quantitative methods, the article compares inactive members with active and non‐members to identify factors contributing to inactive status. Findings This article contends that unmarried voluntary contributors who consider themselves to be healthy and are own‐account workers with low and irregular earnings are more likely to drop out of the scheme. The key drivers of "inactiveness" are the inability to commit to the payment of regular premiums, due to the irregularity of earnings, the change of employment status from formal to informal, and dissatisfaction with scheme services. Policy implications: Since unmarried, "healthy," voluntary contributors are more likely to drop out, this creates problems of adverse selection in cases where the scheme retains "unhealthy" members, who are more likely to claim benefits. When "healthy" members drop out, this may force the scheme to increase the level of premiums, since contributory schemes rely on members' contributions. An increase in premiums may trigger further dropouts, which is counterproductive in relation to the global agenda of increasing access to essential health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important step to achieve greater financial inclusion is to increase the acceptance and usage of digital payments. Although consumer adoption of digital payments has improved dramatically globally, the acceptance and usage of digital payments for micro, small, and medium-sized retailers (MSMRs) remain challenging. Using random forest estimation, we identify 14 key predictors out of 190 variables with the largest predictive power for MSMR adoption and usage of digital payments. Using conditional inference trees, we study the importance of sequencing and interactions of various factors such as public policy initiatives, technological advancements, and private sector incentives. We find that in countries with low POS terminal adoption, killer applications such as mobile phone payment apps increase the likelihood of P2B digital transactions. We also find the likelihood of digital P2B payments at MSMRs increases when MSMRs pay their employees and suppliers digitally. The level of ownership of basic financial accounts by consumers and the size of the shadow economy are also important predictors of greater adoption and usage of digital payments. Using causal forest estimation, we find a positive and economically significant marginal effect for merchant and consumer fiscal incentives on POS terminal adoption on average. When countries implement financial inclusion initiatives, POS terminal adoption increases significantly and MSMRs' share of P2B digital payments also increases. Merchant and consumer fiscal incentives also increase MSMRs' share of P2B electronic payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Local informal waste systems are impacted by international conditions. • Formal and informal waste systems are interdependent. • Economic and environmental impacts of the informal recycling sector are underestimated. • Policy approaches to waste pickers in Catalonia exclude recognition and inclusion. • Local municipalities can adapt to waste pickers to reach recycling objectives. The present study draws from data collected with informal recyclers in the autonomous region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the relationship between the formal and informal recycling sectors in Catalonia and determine how each of their activities impacts the other. From the case study in the city of Granollers, it was determined that from the spring of 2018 to the fall of 2019, the informal recyclers had the potential to collect roughly 44% of the cardboard in their geographical area, helping to meet the environmental goals of the region, but receiving no recognition for their work nor acknowledgement regarding their role in the waste management system. This investigation also analyzed the economic relationship between the formal and informal systems, and the effects that international events, such as China's National Sword policy, had on that relationship. It was determined that the embeddedness of waste systems and global waste markets affect not only the formal system, but their relationship with the informal system as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The Sustainable Development Goals target decent work for all, including youth, by 2030. In sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), however, a "youth employment crisis" is now central to public and policy discourse. Consequently, the idea of "investing in youth" grows in importance, leading to a proliferation of interventions targeted to and specific to youth. Purpose: This article interrogates the framing of the problem as a "youth employment" crisis. Approach and Methods: The article brings together evidence from a range of sources and disciplines, indicates where the evidence supports the current policy orthodoxy and where it does not, and maps out an alternative framing. Five pillars of the dominant narrative about youth employment are identified: demography, violence and civil unrest, training and skills, rural economy and urban economy. Three critical dimensions of Africa's broader employment crisis are highlighted: economic risk, stability and protection. Findings: The dominant narrative about Africa's youth employment crisis foregrounds young people themselves, and strongly suggests that the crisis is all (and often only) about them. Little about the employment crisis, however, is youth‐specific. The "it's all about the youth" framing ignores that young people are caught up in a broader "missing jobs crisis" that reflects fundamental structural constraints within African economies. In other words, the problem is with the economy, not the young people. Policy implications: The emphasis on youth‐specific targeting and youth‐specific interventions is largely misplaced. Instead of initiatives that only or specifically target youth, priority should be given to broader structural issues which have the potential to deliver better and larger results, for both young people and others. Reframing the problem from a youth employment crisis to a missing jobs crisis is a necessary first step. We provide a counter‐narrative to support this shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Colombia, over 50 % of the working population is employed in the informal economy, including street vending. This research aimed to analyze the socioeconomic conditions of street vendors located in public spaces of Florencia, Department of Caquetá, Colombia. The study examined the vendors' socioeconomic and commercial heterogeneity through gender, age, educational level, migratory status, income, type of goods and services they offer, and use of public space. To address this objective, we conducted 190 surveys and 39 interviews. This study shows the multifaceted nature of street vending and the vendors' perspectives on possible relocation, which is important for the development of public policies, especially since the research was carried out in an intermediate city. • The research was carried out in an intermediate city, which have been little studied in terms of informal economy and street vending. • The research allowed the analysis of the push-pull paradigm in Street Vendors migration. • The study made it possible to contrast the gender discrimination in informal economy and Street vending. • The research provides insight into the variability in street vending related to poverty and other factors of vulnerability as forced displacement. • The research identified key elements related to relocation and formal employment that contribute to the formulation of public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]