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Growth and Development

Colin C Williams

Selected Works

Informal sector

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Business

The Informal Sector As A Path To Expanding Opportunities, Colin C. Williams Oct 2015

The Informal Sector As A Path To Expanding Opportunities, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Is the informal economy a help or a hindrance to expanding the opportunities of the poor? Conventionally, it has been deemed a hindrance; an unproductive sphere that is deleterious to wider economic development and growth. Recently, however, a more positive depiction has emerged viewing it as a useful means of expanding the opportunities of the poor. This report reviews the arguments and evidence for viewing it more positively and how it might be harnessed in order to help expand the opportunities of the poor.  

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L’Emploi Informel Dans Les Économies Développées Et En Développement: Quelles Perspectives, Quelles Interventions?, Colin C. Williams Nov 2013

L’Emploi Informel Dans Les Économies Développées Et En Développement: Quelles Perspectives, Quelles Interventions?, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

L’objet de cet article introductif est de proposer un panorama des définitions
et modes de quantification de l’activité informelle, de présenter quelques
résultats sur son étendue et ses caractéristiques, ainsi que d’exposer les thèses en
présence sur son rôle dans les économies contemporaines et la façon de l’aborder.
Cela donne une série de cadres conceptuels permettant de mieux appréhender la
littérature foisonnante sur l’emploi informel, et aussi de mieux comprendre l’apport
de chacune des contributions de ce numéro spécial au progrès des connaissances
sur ce phénomène.

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Theorizing The Self-Service Economy: A Case Study Of Do-It-Yourself (Diy) Activity, Colin C. Williams Dec 2011

Theorizing The Self-Service Economy: A Case Study Of Do-It-Yourself (Diy) Activity, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Recently, it has become increasingly recognised that self-servicing is a growing rather than declining phenomenon. To explain this, a range of competing theories have emerged which variously portray those engaged in self-servicing either as rational economic actors, dupes, seekers of self-identity, or simply doing so out of necessity or choice. This paper evaluates critically the validity of these rival explanations. To do this, the extent of, and reasons for, self-servicing in the domestic realm is empirically evaluated through an internet survey of 5,500 people living in the city of Sheffield in England. This resulted in 418 valid responses (a 7.6 …

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Enabling Enterprise: Tackling The Barriers To Formalisation, Colin C. Williams Dec 2011

Enabling Enterprise: Tackling The Barriers To Formalisation, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

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From Market Hegemony To Diverse Economies: Evaluating The Plurality Of Labour Practices In Ukraine, Colin C. Williams Dec 2011

From Market Hegemony To Diverse Economies: Evaluating The Plurality Of Labour Practices In Ukraine, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Drawing inspiration from a burgeoning corpus of scholars who have begun to question the narrative of impending market hegemony, this paper seeks to further advance this emergent ‘diverse economies’ literature by constructing a conceptual framework for representing the multiple labour practices in economies. Transcending the simplistic market/non-market dichotomy, this conceptualises multiple kinds of labour existing along a spectrum from market-oriented to non-market oriented practices, which is cross-cut by another spectrum ranging from wholly monetised to wholly non-monetised practices. The resultant portrayal of a plurality of labour practices that seamlessly merge into each other is then applied to understanding the types …

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