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on Informal and Underground Economics |
| By: | Walkenhorst, Peter |
| Abstract: | Small-scale cross-border trade is ubiquitous in Africa. This paper uses disaggregated trade data to assess the determinants of the product portfolio of different groups of small-scale traders at the border between Uganda and Kenya. Using a weighted fractional response model, it finds that wheelchair-bound traders have a significantly higher propensity to handle products that are subject to high protection than other traders. This result suggests that border officials discriminate in favor of traders with disability in the enforcement of trade policies or the solicitation of bribes. More generally, the findings question the effective implementation of preferential trade agreements in Africa and call for trade policy reforms to be complemented by targeted measures to reduce the hardship faced by vulnerable groups within the population. |
| Keywords: | Informal cross-border trade; compassion; economic rents |
| JEL: | F14 F15 O17 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112796&r= |
| By: | Alessia De Stefani; Athene Laws; Alex Sollaci |
| Abstract: | We leverage survey data from emerging and developing Asia to highlight different aspects of household vulnerability to income shocks arising from the Covid-19 pandemic: occupation in Cambodia, self-insurance mechanisms in Nepal, and financial leverage in Vietnam. Occupation and ex-ante income levels emerge as the main drivers of vulnerability. We estimate that the pandemic could have placed an additional 6 to 9 percent of the population of each country in a vulnerable position, with the impact concentrated on urban, informal, and service sector workers. Government intervention and financial access emerge as key resilience-enhancing mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Income shocks; Informality; Covid-19; Developing Asia |
| Date: | 2022–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2022/064&r= |