http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/21978/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32423/ 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z The informal sector is typically characterized as being very heterogeneous and possibly composed of two clearly distinct segments, sometimes called the lower and upper tiers. However, empirical evidence shows that even among lower tier entrepreneurs profitability can be quite high. We combine these findings and develop an innovative approach to identify what we call " constrained gazelles" , next to the well-known survivalists in the lower tier and growth-oriented top-performers in the upper tier. Our sample of informal entrepreneurs in seven West-African countries allows to link the relative size of these three groups to the structural and macroeconomic environment in these countries. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/34825/ 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z Survival and growth-oriented entrepreneurs follow qualitatively different logics. In this article we retrace the scattered previous theorization of this distinction and present a consolidated set of key characteristics of the two types of enterprises, enriched by our own observations in the field. Our main purpose is to typify the different rationalities of the two groups of entrepreneurs. Second, we argue that because most existing interventions are based on the implicit assumption that all entrepreneurs are growth-oriented, they often fail to address the specific needs of survivalists. Finally, we outline an intervention rationale more attuned to the logic of survival entrepreneurs. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31826/ 2012-03-09T00:00:00Z The informal sector is typically characterised as being very heterogeneous and possibly composed of two clearly distinct segments, sometimes called the lower and upper tier. However, empirical evidence shows that even among lower tier entrepreneurs profitability can be quite high. We combine these findings and develop an innovative approach to identify what we call ‘constrained gazelles’, next to the well-known survivalists in the lower tier and growth-oriented top-performers in the upper tier. Our sample of informal entrepreneurs in seven West-African countries allows to link the relative size of these three groups to the structural and macroeconomic environment in these countries. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/37323/ 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38399/ 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z 183372 http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31011/ 2011-09-01T00:00:00Z Agencies involved in supporting craft-based clusters seem to be captivated either by a value-chain upgrading approach or a sustainable livelihoods approach. This article argues that craft villages in Vietnam consist of three distinct types of producer who need different policy packages: a livelihoods approach for survival producers; a value chain upgrading approach for catalytic growth-oriented producers; and a mixed package for other growthoriented producers. Therefore, instead of using one or the other approach for a specific craft village, policy makers might do well to differentiate their policy packages for distinct types of producer inside particular craft villages. This market segmentation by producer can also be applied by implementing agencies in contexts where government policy is not a factor in programme design. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/23829/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Erhard Berner, Georgina Gomez & Peter Knorringa: "A little less poor": The logic of subsistence entrepreneurs. A large majority of small- and microentrepreneurs aim primarily for subsistence and security, and, consequently, follow a qualitatively different logic from that of growth-oriented entrepreneurs. By presenting the key characteristics of subsistence and growth-oriented enterprises, this article highlights their distinction. It, furthermore, brings together and illuminates what limited evidence exists concerning the transition between subsistence and growth-oriented enterprises. Although the majority of poorer entrepreneurs follow a subsistence rationality, we argue that most development interventions use an implicit growth-oriented logic and, therefore, fail to address the specifi c needs of small-scale entrepreneurs. We conclude by outlining a more pragmatic policy package, one which starts from the reality that instead of being means to riches, subsistence businesses serve primarily as buffers against slipping deeper into poverty. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32797/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32798/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22268/ 2010-11-04T00:00:00Z Introduction We live in interesting and challenging times because we find our- selves in a transition phase. Development models that are focused on the state and those that are focused on the market basically both have failed to deliver sustainable development outcomes at the global level. The past decades have seen industrial revolutions, service revolutions and ICT revolutions. They have been characterized by a capitalist growth logic, by unsustainable use of resources and by enormous prosperity in some places paired with continued poverty in others. The coming era calls for more integrated attention to sustainability, equity and solidarity. While both state-driven and market-driven models have lost much of their credibility, it is as yet unclear what kinds of development models might take centre stage in the new age. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18485/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a hot topic for both business managers and development professionals. Business managers and a small army of consultants are busy developing and implementing a multitude of standards and codes of conduct to convince consumers and civil society organizations (CSOs) of their companies’ responsible behaviour. This responsibility is usually operationalized in terms of respecting and enhancing labour and environmental standards in the production processes of their suppliers in developing countries. This chapter raises two basic questions in order to begin assessing the development relevance of responsible production. First, how likely is it that responsible production becomes increasingly mainstreamed? Second, to what extent can we expect the ‘tool’ of responsible production to enhance developmental outcomes? In other words, these questions explore the quantitative (reach) and qualitative (depth) importance of responsible production for development. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18489/ 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31313/ 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z This article gives three reasons why development scholars concerned with civil society should move beyond an enemy perception of the private sector. First, private entrepreneurs are important social actors in development, possessing a variety of motivations and behaviours which defy monolithic perceptions. Second, entrepreneurs - active and retired - are moving away from passive charity and become active participants in civil society and in international development co-operation. Third, private sector discourses about development need to be unpacked and critically confronted. Here we examine the case for Corporate Social Responsibility: we conclude that established enemy perceptions block learning about and from the private sector. The private sector should be both welcomed and critically engaged, and that requires established civil society thinkers to re-examine the accuracy of their perceptions about the behaviour of private sector actors. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32723/ 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18752/ 2007-05-01T00:00:00Z This paper raises two questions to take a first step in developing a research agenda to assess the developmental relevance of responsible production, which includes both Fair Trade and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The first question is: How likely is it that responsible production becomes increasingly mainstreamed? After defining responsible production and contrasting the models and realities of Fair Trade and CSR, I present the rather optimistic ‘business case’ for a ‘race to the top’ which would also imply a further mainstreaming of responsible production. However, this optimism is put in perspective with some sobering observations about how the rise of China and India as centers of global production and consumption may well limit the reach of responsible production. To what extent can we expect the ‘tool’ of responsible production to enhance developmental outcomes? Notwithstanding the limited overall reach of responsible production, I will argue that it might be feasible to develop ‘pockets’ of responsible production in which various stakeholders have found ways to selectively work together in order to enhance the localized depth of responsible production. The paper concludes with formulating some hypotheses for further research and putting forward the policy relevance of such research. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21569/ 2007-03-01T00:00:00Z Social capital has been a contested notion among economists since its inception in economic literature in the mid-1990s. Its origins are in sociology, but economists have adapted it to make it consistent with economic concepts such as human capital and market failure, as we will make clear below [...] http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21571/ 2007-03-01T00:00:00Z Social capital is a contested concept, embraced by the mainstream as ‘‘the missing link’’ in economic analysis. This article suggests a way to turn it into a more meaningful understanding of how social relations matter in the economy. It will do so by unpacking the concept into various elements, distinguishing what social relations are from what they do, and by recognizing power in social relationships. We will illustrate our alternative approach with two case studies on the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SME) footwear sector in Ethiopia and Vietnam. We conclude with suggestions on how this more contextual approach to the understanding of the economic influences of social relations may contribute to social economics. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/26649/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32706/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32731/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/30711/ 2006-02-25T00:00:00Z Introduction The most general definition of social capital is that “relationships matter”. If this were the only insight from the burgeoning literature on the topic, it would not be news to social economists. On the contrary, the insight that social relationships matter to the economy has been the very foundation of social economics for more than half a century – long before the discovery of the social capital concept by economists. Indeed, what has been portrayed as “the missing link” by mainstream economists, is common knowledge among social economists. True as this may be, such a self-congratulating view about social capital is likely to ignore recent developments analysing in what specific ways social relationships appear to affect economic decisions and processes, and how social economic processes influence the accumulation, distribution, and effectiveness of social capital. Rather than regarding social capital as just another variant of capital and reducing it to a variable in a regression analysis, a small but innovative body of research has developed that is actually unpacking the black box of the connections between social relationships and economic outcomes. Such studies have particularly emerged in the area of development economics. This is probably due, at least in part, to the fact that the World Bank has taken on board the concept a decade ago, which was quickly followed by an ambitious research initiative by the Bank . Another reason why it is particularly in development studies that social capital has received relatively much attention is given by Durlauf and Fafchamps (2004), who state that it has been found useful to address the complex, society-wide problems of poverty in developing countries. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21665/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z The present report on Social capital for industrial development: operationalizing the concept is part of the broader Combating Marginalization and Poverty through Industrial Development (COMPID), research programme of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), designed to enhance the competitiveness of industrial producers in marginalized countries.1 The Industrial Development Report 2002/2003 posits that, especially in the least developed countries, building industrial competitiveness: ‘‘… can involve heavy costs and great risks and uncertainties’’ (UNIDO [131], p. 9). The main reason for conducting research on operationalizing social capital is that there are grounds for believing that social capital could potentially mitigate some of the risks and uncertainties that exist in low-income and marginalized countries, and thus help to increase their level of competitiveness. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/26650/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z The question that drives this paper is: When can we expect firm upgrading by developingcountry suppliers in global value chains will lead to improvements in labour conditions? To deal with this question we, (a) position firm upgrading in the global value chain approach, (b) investigate existing evidence and conceptualisations on how economic globalisation impacts on labour, and (c) develop some hypotheses on when we can expect firm upgrading and improvements in labour conditions to go together. We conclude that firm upgrading in developing-country suppliers in global value chains as a rule does not lead to improvements in labour conditions. Instead, the much broader and more forceful process of immiserising growth makes it very unlikely that workers in such relatively low-skilled production activities will enjoy improvements in labour conditions. Ethical sourcing may lead to improvements in labour conditions of core workers in final product manufacturers and key supplier firms, but it is as yet unclear to what extent such a business model can and will be disseminated. More generally, even though economic globalisation does selectively create new jobs, even labour conditions of core workers may be under pressure while the overall proportion of core workers appears to be declining.