Informal economies, conflict recovery and absent aid

Mackie, Peter; Brown, Alison; Dickenson, Kate; Hassan, Saeed Ahmed; Barawani, Mohamed A Mohamoud

doi:10.1177/0956247817719868

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Home-based workers (homemade) and street vendors are two major occupations in this sector ( 70 ). However, the majority of employees in the gray economy, lack stable jobs, benefits, welfare, or representation ( 65 , 71 , 72 ).…”

Section: Impacts Of Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Expected Impacts of COVID-19: Considering Resource-Limited Countries and Vulnerable Population

Gashaw

Hagos

Sisay

2021

Front. Public Health

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Coronavirus disease in 2019 emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. After a month, it was declared a global threat to public health. The effects of the pandemic could be socio-economic, undermining the health system and risking livelihoods. Vulnerability to this infection has been associated with underlying comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and compromised immune systems. Co-morbidity has been common to the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless. In addition, more severe coronavirus disease outcomes have been reported in older males than females. Nonetheless, multiple variables are related to the concept of cultural gender that should be taken into account as women in more affected sectors are economically disadvantageous and over-represented. Similarly, although children are not the face of this pandemic, calamity has a profound effect on their welfare, especially for those living in poor and inconvenient situations. Moreover, the economic influence could be profound and universal when viewed through a migration lens as it is exacerbating xenophobic and discriminatory treatment. Protection measures to mitigate the outbreak of a pandemic, such as social distancing, may reduce social support for certain categories relied on for their day-to-day activities. The mental health of people would definitely be affected by the additional psychosocial burden of the pandemic, particularly in vulnerable groups. Integrated approaches are therefore mandatory to assist these groups and contain the pandemic.

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Section: Impacts Of Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Expected Impacts of COVID-19: Considering Resource-Limited Countries and Vulnerable Population

Gashaw

Hagos

Sisay

2021

Front. Public Health

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“…However, the sector lacks stability, social welfare or representation, and public health guarantees. [40][41][42] Given the dearth of research findings addressing the psychological aspects of COVID-19 among women street vendors in Eastern Ethiopia, the present study was aimed to address the prevalence of depressive symptoms among street traditional coffee vendors in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One in Five Street Traditional Coffee Vendors Suffered from Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Harar Town, Ethiopia

Sisay¹,

Gashaw²,

Degefu³

et al. 2021

NDT

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Background:The COVID-19 crisis has already resulted in an economic and labor market shock and a rise of informal work sectors. Being an informal job, traditional coffee vending can predispose women to a myriad of mental disorders. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors among street traditional coffee vendors in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed on 180 women engaged in street traditional coffee vending business in Harar town. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using a Public Health Questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression was executed to identify factors associated with depression at a cut-off point of P < 0.05. Results:The mean age of the study participants was 31.83 (±10) years. The majority of the participants were currently married (n = 77, 42.8%), attended primary education (n = 68, 37.8%), had a family member of four or more (n = 60, 33.3%), and had two years or less work experience (n = 123, 68.3%). Most of the study participants obtained COVID-19-related information from television (n = 125, 69.4%). The prevalence of depression was found to be 18.9%. Attending primary education (AOR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.98), attending secondary education or higher (AOR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.69), and having four or more family members (AOR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.14, 6.92) were significantly associated with depression. Conclusion:One in five street traditional coffee vendors suffered from depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lower odds of being depressed were observed in those who attended a minimum of primary education. On the contrary, having a greater family size was associated with higher odds of being depressed. This finding will direct the government and other concerned bodies to be involved in the provision of psychological and material support for such informal workers during COVID-19.

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“…In contexts of urban violence there is often a collapse in formal employment, and rapid growth in the informal economy, as economic turmoil leads to high inflation, loss of formal work and civil unrest, intensifying the vulnerability of informal workers and battles they have to fight (Mackie et al, 2014;Mackie et al, 2017). For example, in Pakistan, the textile industry witnessed a massive decline, with shipments in 2016 at the lowest level since 2010, and a reported half a million jobs lost in the sector (Mangi and Kay, 2016).…”

Section: Informal Economies In Conflict-affected Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the prominence of the informal economy in many conflict affected cities of the global south, including Karachi, its role in supporting the urban poor to survive and in enabling the city to recover and adapt is hardly considered by municipal and national governments, and humanitarian and development agencies (Mackie et al, 2017). Yet, scholarship on informality is unambiguous in recognising that 'rarely is the 'informal' a space marked by the absence of the state' (Banks et al, 2020: 234).…”

Section: Informal Economies In Conflict-affected Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper aims to respond to this key research gap. Through a comparative frame, operationalised in three key sites, it offers new insights on the resilience of the informal economy in Karachi and adds to an emerging wider literature on the role of the informal economy in conflict-affected cities (Hasan, 2002;Gazdar and Mallah, 2013;Sherani, 2013;Mackie et al, 2017). We introduce a broad conceptualisation of resilience as an antidote to the conventional views of resilience that perceive it only as a self-help 'bounce back' mechanism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-dimensional conflict and the resilient urban informal economy in Karachi, Pakistan

Mackie¹,

Brown²,

Mehmood³

et al. 2022

International Development Planning Review

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This paper explores the resilience of the urban informal economy through multi-dimensional conflict. Karachi constituted an ideal case study for the research given the intensity and paradigmatic nature of the multi-dimensional conflict experienced in the city between 2008 and 2013. The paper applies a comparative frame in three sites (Sadar, Orangi and Lyari) to illustrate resilience of the informal economy and its role in supporting the urban poor in Karachi to survive and sometimes thrive, whilst also contributing to peaceful recovery and adaptation, albeit persistent divisions mean violence remains possible. The paper argues for greater recognition of and support for informal economies in urban policy, marking a shift away from the predominant neoliberal forms of governance that diminish the role of the state and burden already vulnerable people with the greatest risks, particularly in fragile, conflict-affected situations where half the world’s poor are predicted to live by 2030.

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Informal economies, conflict recovery and absent aid

Cited by 10 publications

References 46 publications

Expected Impacts of COVID-19: Considering Resource-Limited Countries and Vulnerable Population

Expected Impacts of COVID-19: Considering Resource-Limited Countries and Vulnerable Population

One in Five Street Traditional Coffee Vendors Suffered from Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Harar Town, Ethiopia

Multi-dimensional conflict and the resilient urban informal economy in Karachi, Pakistan

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