In spite of the informal sector's role as a major 'employer' of labour and source of income for many in Africa very little research has been done in this area: this paper reports on one study of informal sector operations in a specific urban location, Magaba, in Harare, Zimbabwe. The study concludes that while the informal sector can be seen as an 'employer of last resort' for some, a significant number of operators are committed to their informal sector enterprises and would continue in them even if other options were open. The Magaba study highlights the operations of the informal sector as distinctly heterogeneous with a stratification within the sector that appears to be related to tenure of workplace and type of economic activity. These factors imply the necessity for differential treatment of the various subgroups of informal operators and unemployed in terms of local and national policy.
Read
