Working Out of Poverty

Fox, Louise; Gaal, Melissa Sekkel

doi:10.1596/978-0-8213-7442-9

Cited by 35 publications

(34 citation statements)

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“…Earnings of self-employed non-agricultural workers in Ghana in 2005, a proxy for informal sector workers, were 35% higher than those for selfemployed agriculture workers (World Bank, 2008). Fox and Gaal (2008) conclude that earnings in the informal sector pull workers out of agriculture with average incomes in the informal sector of most countries being at least 50% higher than those in agriculture. The impact on poverty, they report, is positive with data from a number of countries showing that households whose main economic activity is in the informal sector have a lower rate of poverty-the highest poverty rates are always in agriculture.…”

Section: A Profile Of Informal Sector Employmentmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Since first recognized in the early 1970s, the informal sector of Sub-Saharan Africa has become a growing source of employment for large numbers of youth, but also for older workers pursuing entrepreneurial goals and others adjusting to structural changes in the region's employment (Bangasser, 2000;Liimatainen, 2002;International Labour Organization [ILO], 2002a;Johanson & Adams, 2004;Becker, 2004;Fox and Gaal, 2008). Initially viewed as a safety net for those unable to find employment in the modern sector, the image of the informal sector has begun to change with time and the education of those entering it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More workers have begun to view it not as a temporary stop while searching for employment in the formal wage economy, but as a preferred destination offering opportunities to those wanting to become entrepreneurs. In countries throughout the Africa region, where job growth in the formal wage sector has stagnated making it difficult to absorb rising numbers of new entrants to the labour force, self-employment has opened opportunities for youths who are acquiring higher levels of education and skills (Fox and Gaal, 2008). Rising levels of education are producing higher earnings in the informal sector.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work

Maclean¹,

Wilson²

2009

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Section: A Profile Of Informal Sector Employmentmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work

Maclean¹,

Wilson²

2009

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“…Though he was engaged in private job, pushing wheelbarrow to sell fruits but the quick immolation committed by him shows the level of frustration with the type of job and his standard of living. The works by Polet (2007) on the state of resistance, Fox and Gaal (2008), working out poverty, and Alters (2011) clearly show that resistance against the State has high correlation with the unemployed who feel that their state of being poor is linked to unemployment. The nexus between unemployment and national security can easily be established against the backdrop of the recent recruitment exercise carried out by Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in 2014.…”

Section: Nexus Between Unemployment and National Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-Contextualizing Unemployment and National Security in Nigeria

Iwu¹

2015

JSD

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Unemployment is largely blamed for the intractable security challenges in Nigeria. More worrisome is that population growth adds 4.5 million youths into the labour market every year that largely begs for the public sector attention as presently conceptualized. Previous studies have focused on national job creation to manage employment challenges. This study argues on the contrary and sues for re-conceptualization of the concept of unemployment. The problem is that unemployment is major buzzword for assessing government in Nigeria. Unless re-conceptualized, unemployment will continue to pose serious challenges to national security. A number of strategies are highlighted to contain the challenges.Keywords: unemployment, national security, human resources, employment, entrepreneurship BackgroundThere is need to link unemployment to the matrix of national security in order to find explanatory framework for this study. Burgess (2008:60) posited that despite the fact that fears, anxiety, danger and doubt are fundamental social and individual experiences; the scholarly study of security has fundamentally been limited to the field of international studies, associated primarily with the status of nation-state in relation to each other. McNamara (1968:149) who posited that security is development and without development there can be no security further reinforces the nexus between unemployment and insecurity. This paper departs from the focus of earlier works on Nigeria that largely rest on traditional conception of national security such as Ekoko and Vogt (1990);Jonah (2008);Isa (2007) and Hutchful (2004). However, it is important to acknowledge that some works that tend to move away from traditional approach to the study of national security in Nigeria such as Nnoli (2006) Buzan (1991aBuzan ( , 1991bDalby (1997Dalby ( , 2000; Der Derian (1993); Dillon (1996); Huysmans (1998); Kaldor (2000); Lipschutz (1995); Rothchild (1995);Tickner (1995);Waever (1997Waever ( , 2000; Williams (1994) andWyn Jones (1999). These works show a general consensus among both scholars and practitioners that a wide range of security threats, both new and traditional, confronts states, individuals and societies. However, the stance of this present work is to show that the challenge to human insecurity in Nigeria emanates from the state of poverty, which is largely caused by overdependence on government institutions to provide employment. This study re-contextualizes, examines unemployment problem, interrogates nexus between unemployment and national security and highlights how to contain the challenges. Re-contextualizing UnemploymentWe can assume that before now joblessness was understood as a personal problem. The assumption is based on the fact that prior to exploitation of oil in commercial quantity in Oloibiri in 1956(Ogunlowo 2008, agriculture provided the engine of employment both formally and informally to every prospective individual who want to work in that sector in Nigeria. Staying without job in any sense was certainly reg...

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“…This applies in particular to informal sector workers, who comprise 42.7 per cent of the urban labour force. 56 Recognising the potency of the protest, the Compaoré regime moved quickly to subsidise the price of necessities and reduce taxes. But such measures did little assuage the protestors.…”

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confidence: 99%

Plus ça change: trade unions, the military and politics in Burkina Faso, 1966 and 2014

Phelan

2016

Labor History

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This article examines the first and the most recent coups d'état in Burkina Faso, focusing on the pivotal role played by trade unions in both January 1966 and October 2014. Both events reveal the potency of trade unionism in the country, and both illustrate the political bind in which the country finds itself. The political history of Burkina Faso represents an ever-shifting, intractable passion play between a political elite with a strong tendency toward authoritarian rule, a military that sees itself as the bulwark of political stability, and a powerful trade union movement capable of toppling governments but incapable of redeeming the nation's political life. The similarities between the two coups d'état are remarkable and demonstrate the extent to which the politics of the country are locked in a cycle from which it apparently cannot escape. Through its role as the vanguard of civil society, trade unionism has rid the country of political ogres, but it has failed to fundamentally alter the nature of political power. As a result, Burkina Faso remains mired in crushing poverty, riven by high levels of corruption and economic inequality, and under the thrall of neo-liberal structural adjustment that has proven unable to promote meaningful growth. Both coups therefore reveal the surprising strength of trade unionism as well as its limitations.

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Working Out of Poverty

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work

International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work

Re-Contextualizing Unemployment and National Security in Nigeria

Plus ça change: trade unions, the military and politics in Burkina Faso, 1966 and 2014

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