Mireille Razafindrakoto

New international poverty reduction strategies

Jean-Pierre Cling, Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud Introduction: Have the Changes actually Changed Anything? Part I: Diagnosis and Reflections on Poverty Reduction Policies 1. Jean-Pierre Cling A Critical Review of the World Banks Stance on Poverty Reduction 2. Denis Cogneau Poverty, Inequality of Conditions and Inequality of Opportunities: Chances and Risks of New Strategies 3. Serge Paugam The Lessons to be Learnt from Methods of Regulating Poverty in Europe 4. Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud Urban Poverty and Recession in Sub-Saharan Africa: Elements for an Assessment 5. Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud Do They Really Think Differently? The Voice of the Poor Through Quantitative Surveys Part II: Scope and Limitations of the New International Initiatives 6. Jean-Pierre Cling, Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud The Participatory Process Towards Establishing New Relationship Between Stakeholders 7. Jean-Pierre Cling, Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: Old Wine in New Bottles? 8. Idrissa Dante, Mohamed Ali Marouani and Marc Raffinot Poverty Reduction in Mali: Will the PRSP Make a Difference? 9. Jean-David Naudet Debt Relief or Aid Reform? 10. Anne-Sophie Bougouin and Marc Raffinot The HIPC Initiative and Poverty Reduction Part III: Monitoring and Evaluation Systems 11. Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud The Existing Systems for Monitoring Poverty: Weaknesses of the Usual Household Surveys 12. Daniel Verger The Different Approaches to Measuring Poverty in Europe: What Lessons for the LDCs? 13. Mireille Razafindrakoto and Francois Roubaud Two Original Poverty Monitoring Tools: The 1-2-3 Surveys and the Rural Observatories 14. Denis Cogneau, Michael Grimm and Anne-Sophie Robilliard Evaluating Poverty Reduction Policies: The Contribution of Micro-Simulation Techniques

To be or not to be registered? Explanatory factors behind formalizing non-farm household businesses in Vietnam

This article sets out to investigate the reasons why some household businesses decide to register and become formal (while others do not) in order to shed light on the origins of informality. We use qualitative as well as quantitative data on household businesses (HB) derived from first-hand representative surveys implemented in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The study reveals that although most of the informal businesses operate ‘illegally’, this is more due to unclear registration legislation than the mark of a deliberate intention to evade the economic regulations. Among the different factors that influence the registration decisions, the reason for setting up the business appears to be a determining one: the more it is a real choice (businesses set up to be independent or to follow a family tradition) and the less a constraint (set up for lack of a job alternative), the more the HB is inclined to be registered. Furthermore, the analysis highlights that incentives do prove decisive insofar as the probability of having a formal business is greater among HB heads who consider that registration provides at least partial protection from corruption. Besides, access to information, the market and large business orders also drive the informal entrepreneurs to register. These results stress the need for clarification of the legal framework as well as incentive policies in order to address the issue of informality.

Vietnam labour market and informal economy in a time of crisis and recovery 2007-2009 : main findings of the Labour Force Surveys (LFS)

In 2007 the General Statistics Office (GSO) launched a joint research program with the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) to measure and analyzes the informal sector in Vietnam. Two kinds of surveys were conducted in 2007: a national Labour Force Survey (LFS) which, in a first for Vietnam classified labour by institutional sector thereby separating out the informal sector; and two specific surveys in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) which were grafted onto the LFS2007 to find out more about the characteristics of household businesses (HB) in general and especially the informal sector (HB&IS2007). This brief presents the main findings (both methodological and analytical) of these two rounds of LFS as regards the labour market and the informal economy in Vietnam. In the context of the global crisis, it looks at the dynamics of the main labour market indicators with a special focus on informal sector and informal employment between 2007 and 2009.For the first time ever in Vietnam, it is possible measure precisely the evolution of the informal economy and to check for the robustness of the estimates provided. In the conclusion the author outline some of the implications of the findings in terms of survey design and economic and social policies.

Development, a Question of Opportunity? A Critique of the 2006 World Development Report: Equity and Development

The World Banks World Development Report 2006 addresses equity and development, defining equity as respect for equal opportunities combined with the avoidance of absolute deprivation. Equity has up to now remained a marginal issue in development economics. This detailed analysis endeavours to place the subject within the context of the evolution of World Bank thinking and policies. The wealth of the concept is illustrated, the downside being the difficulty in defining it accurately. We also emphasise the gap between the prospects opened up by such an enlargement of development goals and the reports policy recommendations, which are generally merely an extension of the World Banks traditional analyses.

Responding to the SDG16 Measurement Challenge: The Governance, Peace and Security Survey Modules in Africa

This paper presents an ongoing initiative, built on practical approach and grounded in fieldwork experience, to produce harmonised statistics on Governance, Peace and Security (GPS) at continental level in Africa. The methodology consists of adding on standardised GPS modules to socioeconomic household surveys. In line with the usually promoted principles of inclusiveness and participation, the use of statistical survey among large and representative sample of the population is a good strategy to voice citizens’ views and concerns. The adoption of the 2030 agenda, which positions institution-building and governance issues as a cornerstone of sustainable development, provides a unique opportunity to consolidate this pioneering African experience. The institutionalisation of the production of GPS statistics by National Statistics Offices within the official statistics field can give the means to take up the Goal 16 measurement challenge. The paper describes the main methodological options for doing so and draws lessons and initial evidence from a dozen countries that have piloted the GPS survey module. Selected empirical results illustrate the analytical potential and policy relevance offered by this approach.

The informal economy in Asia: introduction to the issue

Most jobs in the developing countries are found in the informal economy, which plays a predominant role in developing economies. Word even has it that the global economic crisis has increased the weight of the informal sector due to job losses in other economic sectors. Therefore, if we want to improve our understanding of how these countries’ economies work, we need to improve our knowledge of the informal economy. Such knowledge is also a key to poverty reduction, a core development policy concern. This is a major challenge from the political, economic and social point of view. Let us not forget that the 2011 Arab Spring started in Tunisia when an informal fruit and vegetable street vendor was harassed by the police and set fire to himself. At the same time, the informal economy remains largely a mystery to researchers and ignored, if not perceived negatively by politicians, as shown by this tragic figurehead of the Tunisian Revolution. Despite decades of work on the subject by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the mists that continue to surround the informal economy remain a major obstacle to its inclusion in economic policies. In keeping with international recommendations, the informal sector is defined as all non-agricultural, unregistered, unincorporated enterprises that produce goods and services for sale.1 Informal employment is defined as employment with no social security coverage. A number of characteristics can be considered in this regard for a precise definition: social security coverage, written contract, pay slips, redundancy pay, etc. These definitions find informal employment being made up of two main and distinct components, that is, employment in the informal sector and unprotected employment in the formal sector. In keeping with ILO (1993, 2003) definitions, the informal sector and informal employment make up what is known as the informal economy. The lack of accurate statistical data on the informal economy is another concern. This problem is due to a number of factors: hazy definitions outside of the statistical community, lack of interest by the authorities in a sector operating on the fringes of the economy and not paying any or much tax, measurement problems due precisely to the fact that this is a fringe sector, and the preconceived idea that the informal sector is a mark of underdevelopment and will gradually disappear as the countries develop. Whatever the case, the lack of data reliability limits the relevance of the analyses presented in the international reports on this subject (see, in particular, the 2009 ILO-WTO and OECD reports: Bacchetta et al. 2009; Jütting and de Laiglesia 2009). In addition, the absence of sufficient data generally forces economic studies on the subject to adopt ad hoc (e.g., smalland medium-sized enterprises) and highly approximate definitions (Guha-Khasnobis and Kanbur 2006).