June 13, 2007 Women and the Informal Economy: A Special Relationship? by Dr. Dzodzi Tsikata

May 30th 2007 The Spatial Dimensions of the Informal Economy - Prof. S. Afrane, Dean, Faculty of Planning & Land Ecomony

16th May 2007 New Trends in Informal Social Security Systems in Ghana -
Dr. Ellen Bortei-Doku-Aryeetey. Subject Area: Social Development (ISSER-Merchant bank series)

2nd May, 2007 Manufacturing and Artisanal Services in the Informal Economy. by Dr. Robert Osei. Subject area: Macroeconomics (ISSER-Merchant Bank serires)

18th April, 2007: The Informal Sector in Education: The changing character and the role of apprenticeships in Ghana by Prof Mansah Prah

4th April, 2007 The Situation, Current Challenges and Future Prospects of the Informal Economy in Health By Mr Alfred Obuobi

Abstract
Women and the Informal Economy: A Special Relationship? - Dr. Dzodzi Tsikata
A distinct characteristic of the informal economy in Ghana and everywhere in sub-Saharan Africa is that it is the predominant location of women’s productive activities. It is no exaggeration to say that the informal economy is female. Its numerical composition is predominantly female and its official characteristics, the nature of many enterprises and its labor relations are all associated with the features of women’s work. While this is often acknowledged, it does not appear to be taken into account in discussions about the solutions to the problems of the informal economy.

This is in spite of a growing body of excellent studies on women in the informal economy. Women’s predominance in the informal economy is linked with the history of urbanization and the creation of a formal economy presided over by the colonial state. The labor recruited to work in colonial bureaucracy, public and private enterprises, the mines and to build infrastructure was predominantly male. This and the discriminatory character of colonial education meant that women participated in the colonial economy on its margins, performing the critical functions which reproduced the colonial labor force. The margin grew, its functions expanded and it provided work for increasing numbers of urban and rural dwellers without formal schooling. It came to be christened as the informal economy. In the old conception of the informal economy as a temporary place for those who could not be absorbed by the formal economy, more and more of the labor force was expected to move into the formal economy. This did not happen. Instead, the informal workers grew and became more and more central to the economies of sub-Saharan Africa.

 Economic liberalization programs such as Ghana’s Economic Recovery Program which was instituted in the 80s resulted in an exponential growth of the informal economy. Workers who lost their work in the formal economy moved into the formal economy, a growing population of young people who had completed their basic and secondary education and two decades of recovery characterized by economic growth without creation of employment (jobless growth) created a very substantial informal economy and the informalization of labor relations in the formal economy. While the expansion of the informal economy has created new work opportunities for women, most lucrative jobs have found. Instead women have become entrenched in the survivalist sections of the informal economy making a living in conditions which do not conform to the ILO standards for decent work. As well, many women working in the formal sector are in the informal labor relations with implications for their conditions of service and the job security. Thus it can be argued that women’s special relationship with the informal is not a happy one.

This presentation will discuss women’s participation in the informal economy, their work conditions and its implications for their livelihoods using examples from three sectors in which women are predominant-domestic labor, trading and banking sector. State policies towards the informal economy will be discussed from a gender perspective as will be the recent phenomenon of employment agencies as a new institutional form of mediating labor relations. The dominant policy recommendations which favor the formalization of the informal economy will be discussed and recommendations made for reforming labor relations in the informal economy in order to promote decent livelihoods for the women and men whose work keeps our economy on the road and households together.

ABSTRACT
The Spatial Dimensions of the Informal Economy
The Informal Economy is a visible and unyielding phenomenon characterizing the space economy of cities of the developing world including Ghana. It comprises a whole array of small-scale labour-intensive enterprises which provide jobs and income for millions of people in these cities (ILO, 1973, Gerards et al, 1998, Alison, 2006). This paper sought to analyse the spatial dispositions of the activities of the informal economy in Ghanaian cities within the framework of the urban planning system and to propose policies and interventions that will address the spatial problems associated with the uncontrolled locations of these enterprises. Kumasi was used as a case study. It's informal economy currently provides jobs for about 75 % of the labour force in the Metropolis (Boapeah, 2001).
The analysis revealed different and complex spatial dispositions of these activities. Whereas some are foot-loose (e.g., hawkers), others take place in large organized locations, public open spaces, residential public domains, within housing space, road sides and walkways. It was observed that because no provisions were made for them in planning schemes, unoccupied public spaces always became their obvious targets. Most of these activities have annexed and located in public spaces. It was further established that the ubiquitous locations of these activities is due to its small space requirements and the flexibility characterizing their operations. Regarding legality of their operations, it was found that most of them (74%) did not have legal authority or planning approval while 92% were squatting on the lands on which their enterprises are located.
In sum, the uncontrolled emergence of informal activities across the entire landscape of the city has resulted in encroachment of public spaces, distortion of the orderly implementation of planning schemes and the creation of all forms of spatial frictions including vehicular and pedestrian conflicts. To address this problem, there is the need to provide alternative sites for informal activities; resource and strengthen city planning institutions, introduce legislative reforms and public participation in the planning system and finally review the entire planning system in Ghana. This will entail shifting from the conventional segregationist approach of land use planning to an integrative model which ensures that 'there is a place for everything and everything in its place' (Perin, 1977). This approach will ensure that informal activities are not treated as an 'after-thought', but rather their space needs are well-integrated in the Structure Plans of cities.

Profile: Dr. Afrane is an Associate Professor in Development Planning and is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Planning and Land Economy of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. He has considerable research, teaching and consultancy experience in Strategic Planning, Institutional Development, Microfinance issues, Urban Development and Management, and Project Monitoring and Evaluation. He has been involved in a number of research projects in Ghana and other countries including South Africa, Uganda, Malawi and Bolivia in Latin America. He has served as a consultant to many local and international agencies including the Ministry of Finance, district assemblies, the World Bank, UNDP, USAID, ILO, Opportunity International, World Vision International, IFAD, ECLOF-Geneva, DFID etc. He is a member of the National Development Planning Commission and also chairs many institutional boards and Committees. He has to his credit many research publications and consultancy reports.

New Trends in Informal Social Security Systems in Ghana
The Seminar presentation reviews on-going developments in social security practices among people in the informal economy, with special reference to what may be driving changes here. It is acknowledged that on the whole there is evidence of the endurance of traditional practices of social assistance among people in the informal economy. For example, the norms of reciprocity that have traditionally guided inter-group relations have remained largely intact. Many people continue to turn to their social networks for support. Therefore, in terms of trends in informal social security there are really no dramatic changes. But on the other hand there is widespread evidence of social security failures among those who rely largely on their social assistance arrangements within the informal economy, indicating that this channel is no longer able to cushion workers and their families against shocks. This is said to be linked to the high levels of risk and uncertainty that characterize the informal economy, arising from income insecurity, high out-migration and dilution of traditional social capital. But, this is not to loose sight of the adaptable and dynamic nature of informal social security, as households and communities devise new forms of support to meet new challenges. For example, as has happened in the case of the Queen mother support for AIDS Orphans in the Somanya area. Innovative approaches being adopted by formal sector providers such as SSNIT to attract workers in the informal economy are addressed. Finally, the state’s more formalized response to the need to provide social protection for disadvantaged groups through the National Social Protection Strategy is briefly discussed. The information for the presentation comes largely from secondary sources as well as my own past research

Profile -Dr. Ellen Bortei-Doku-Aryeetey.
Dr. Ellen Bortei-Doku Aryeetey is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and the Acting Head of the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) both at the University of Ghana, Legon. She has conducted research and taught on various aspects of social development, and has participated in social policy dialogue and planning with state agencies, development partners and non-government organizations. She has also published materials on community development, gender and development and the social organizational aspects of artisanal fisheries, amongst other.

Manufacturing and Artisanal Services in the Informal Economy in Ghana Although the manufacturing sector in Ghana remains a key part of the development agenda, it’s performance has been anything but impressive. This paper argues that part of the reason lies in the fact that not enough attention has been given to the informal manufacturing and artisanal services sub-sector. Using data from a recent Bank of Ghana study, it highlights some of the features of the manufacturing and artisanal services in the informal economy in Ghana as follows: they operate as one man businesses, financing the business mainly from personal and family savings, but remain quite optimistic about the future business environment. The paper throws some light on the factors that need to be taken into consideration in thinking about the formalisation of the informal manufacturing and artisanal services in Ghana.

The Informal Sector in Education: The changing character and role of apprenticeships in Ghana
Based Mainly on the results of a study of Cape-Coast based micro-enterprises that train apprentices and on insights from an on-going study of blacksmiths and gunsmiths in Ghana, the paper discusses differences between formal and informal vocational education in terms of social attitudes towards them, pedagogy and policy, and throws light on the changing nature of apprenticeships. Although there are a wide variety of arrangements for training, some trends were identified. There appears to be a shift from the more traditional training of children and other family members by parents who are 'masters and madams' to a commercialized type of apprenticeship which involves informal contracts, cash payments and the education of trainees who are not family members. There is also a growing degree of formalization in the sector. The implications of the latest educational reform for the future of apprenticeships in Ghana are discussed.

Profile: Mansah Prah was born and bred in Accra. After completing her undergraduate and graduate education in sociology and education at the universities of Heidelberg and Frankfurt respectively, she joined the academic staff of the university of Cape Coast as a lecturer in 1985. Her research are in gender and education, rural sociology and popular culture. She was the head of the department of sociology, university of Cape Coast from 2000 to 2005, and has served as the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences since Sept 2006.

The Situation, Current Challenges and Future Prospects of the Informal Economy in Health

This lecture attempts to provide a clearer understanding of the role of the informal economy in health in Ghana. It explores the development of the informal health economy and addresses the situation, current challenges and prospects of the informal economy in health and suggests strategies and policies that will strengthen the role of the informal health economy.

Over the last decades, it has become clear that the informal economy has significant job and income generation potential especially in developing countries. It is therefore appropriate to develop appropriate policy frameworks and strategies to promote the potential of the informal economy to create jobs and economic growth. In the case of the informal economy in health, a clear understanding of the health delivery system as a whole is needed. The health delivery system embraces both public and private provision and financing. Public/Formal provision is anchored in the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Service. Such other Ministries like Education (MOE), Finance (MOF), Local Government (MOLG) and Defence (MOD), as well as some parastatal institutions support them. The private sector consists of both formal and informal providers, ranging from individuals, households and communities, to doctors, pharmacists, NGOs and a variety of traditional practitioners. Despite this plurality, discussion of the health system focuses so heavily on the public sector role in health care delivery that the quite significant contributions of non-state actors, especially the household and the traditional, have tended to be down played.

As the burden of providing health care has become increasingly onerous, government policy has sought to develop the partnership between the public and private sectors. (MTHS 1995) The object is to mobilise greater resources and enhance quality, equity and availability of care. For this to be successful, a holistic view of the health care system is required. For the past few decades, efforts have been made at reforming the health sector to make it more efficient, equitable and more responsive to consumer needs. Despite of the progress made, there is the need for a much stronger political commitment to improving health and forging partnerships with the key actors in informal health economy.

Profile
Mr. Alfred Obuobi has spent the last 23 years teaching, consulting and doing research after obtaining an MPH in health planning and economic development in 1979 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His fields of specialization are health service planning and management, strategic management, health economics, health care financing and health policy analysis.

At present, he is a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School and the School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences at the University of Ghana. He has taught undergraduate and post-graduate courses in health service management, public health planning and applications, health economics, general principles of management and administration, health service supplies, community h.ealth and human relations in organizations. In 1993, Mr. Obuobi was a member of the Committee which established the School of Public Health and is currently a member of the Executive MBA Council of the University of Ghana Business School.