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"In recent years politicians and social scientists have become ever more concerned with citizens' participation in informal networks ('social participation'). From both fields, the state has theoretically been proposed as an important determinant of social participation. Differing state institutions would explain the large country level differences in the average level of social participation. This article studies the impact of a range of state institutions on participation in broad, informal networks. The editors distinguish two aspects of social participation: the quantity (the number of social meetings) and the quality (the character of the informal relationships in the form of help provision). Taking up a new institutionalist approach, they test three explanations that have been raised theoretically but have not - or not sufficiently - been tested empirically before. The crowding out thesis claims that a large welfare state undermines the role of informal networks as an economic safety net, and therefore has a detrimental effect on social participation. According to the economic safety thesis a large welfare state and economic prosperity at the national level will offer citizens the resources and financial security to look for self actualization through social participation. Finally, the safe refuge thesis claims that people who life in a hostile socio-political environment that gives them little civic autonomy in the public sphere will opt for participation outside of the public sphere - that is around secure ties in informal networks. They test these lines of reasoning in a multilevel research design on data of the European Social Survey 2002. They simultaneously test the impact of the social security, economic development, democracy, civil rights and state corruption on social participation. The crowding out thesis is refuted by the data: social security expenditure has no impact on social participation. Economic prosperity, on the other hand, stimulates social participation, which is in line with the economic safety thesis. The most important determinant of social participation, however, is the level of corruption in a society. In corrupt societies people have less social meetings and provide less help to others than in incorrupt societies." (author's abstract)

Formale Finanzmärkte fallen nach der üblichen Definition unter die Aufsicht und Kontrolle staatlicher Organe bzw. sie können durch das finanzpolitische Instrumentarium (weitgehende) gesteuert werden. Dies geschieht hauptsächlich durch eine Zentralbank. Definitionsgemäß sind dann informale Finanzmärkte solche, die sich solchen Kontrollen (weitgehend) entziehen. Das vorliegende Arbeitspapier zeigt, daß diese Unterscheidung von strategischer Bedeutung für die Wirtschaftsförderung und Entwicklungspolitik ist, d.h., daß der Zugang zu billigen Krediten auch für Klein- und Einzelunternehmer (grassroot level) eine notwendige Bedingung für das Wirtschaftswachstum in den Entwicklungsländern ist. Der Autor analysiert einige typische Konstellationen der Finanzlandschaften in den Entwicklungsländern, um einen optimales, idealtypisches Instrumentarium für finanzpolitische Entwicklungsstrategien zu finden. (ICE)

This article briefly display the results of the analysis and characterization of formation, transformation and urban consolidation processes in informal originated neighborhoods –urban unities– in the 90's, in Colombia main cities, by analyzing the participation of State, community and private initiative acting as social agents and so the interactions established with the components of economic, juridical - political and institutional structures as social totality integrated to the city. It also analyzes other characteristic aspects of this sort of Latin American urban processes as: the participation of social agents in the origin and formation of informal settlements and the processes of consolidation of the urban units and informal origin-low income housing in the cities of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga Manizales, Pereira, Ibagué and Cúcuta. Some of the existing conditions of public services and social equipment operation are indicated too, as well as the ways of participation of social agents in its construction and operation within the informal city; aspects relative to the quality of life represented in the socio-economical conditions of inhabitants and the ways of obtaining, financing and construction of housing and improvement of urban units are related. Consequently, an emphasis on problems of mobility and forced-displacement and its impact on urban instances and on the configuration of the informal city is made in order to present elements that let to identify the communities' cultural attitude towards city, urban units and environment. Finally, the main environmental problems generated by the implantation and development of these urban units and the environmental situation are recognized in the Colombian informal establishments. ; Este artículo presenta de manera sucinta los resultados del análisis y la caracterización de los procesos de formación, transformación y consolidación urbana en barrios de origen informal desde la década de los noventa, en las diez principales ciudades de Colombia. Analiza la participación del Estado, la comunidad y la iniciativa privada como agentes sociales, y las interacciones que existen con los componentes de la estructura económica, jurídico-política e institucional como totalidad social integrada a la ciudad. Presenta, así mismo, otros aspectos característicos de los procesos urbanos latinoamericanos como son: la participación de los agentes sociales en el origen y formación de los asentamientos informales y los procesos de consolidación de los barrios –unidades urbanas–; la vivienda de bajos ingresos de origen informal en Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Manizales, Pereira, Ibagué y Cúcuta; aspectos relativos a la formación de los asentamientos. También se señalan algunas de las condiciones de funcionamiento de los servicios públicos y los equipamientos sociales existentes, las formas de participación de los agentes sociales en su construcción y funcionamiento dentro de la ciudad informal, y se relacionan aspectos relativos a la calidad de vida representada en las condiciones socioeconómicas de los habitantes y las formas de obtención, financiación y construcción de la vivienda y relacionados con el mejoramiento de los barrios de origen informal. Se hace énfasis en los problemas de movilidad y desplazamiento forzado y su impacto en los ámbitos urbanos y en la configuración de la ciudad informal; presenta elementos que permiten identificar la mentalidad y la actitud cultural de las comunidades frente a la ciudad, las unidades urbanas y el medio ambiente, y reconoce los principales problemas ambientales generados por la implantación y el desarrollo de estas unidades urbanas en los asentamientos informales colombianos. Todos estos elementos se revelan en relación a las dinámicas y problemáticas detectadas en torno al proceso de urbanización en Colombia.

En el presente artículo, la autora elabora un esquema organizativo de su trabajo. En un primer momento, señala los alcances sobre la propiedad en la Constitución vigente. Del mismo modo hace una referencia al artículo 70 de la normativa citada. Además, analiza la Ley de Promoción del Acceso a la propiedad formal (Decreto Legislativo 803). Conjuntamente escribe un interesante comentario sobre las funciones de la Comisión de Formalización de la Propiedad Informal (COFOPRI) ; The author refers to the progress in the property of the current Constitution and its article 70.Besides she analyses the law on the Promotion to have access to the formal property (Legislative Decree 803). An interesting comment on the functions of THE COMMISSION FOR THE FORMALIZATION OF THE INFORMAL PROPERTY (COFROPI) is also written

Informal payments are a frequently overlooked source of local public fi nance in developing countries. We use microdata from ten countries to establish stylized facts on the magnitude, form, and distributional implications of this "informal taxation." Informal taxation is wide- spread, particularly in rural areas, with substantial in-kind labor payments. The wealthy pay more, but pay less in percentage terms, and informal taxes are more regressive than formal taxes. Failing to include informal taxation underestimates household tax burdens and revenue decentralization in developing countries. We discuss various explanations for and implications of these observed stylized facts. ; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (R03HD051957) ; Weatherhead Center for International Affairs ; Taubman Center for State and Local Government ; Harvard University. Asia Center

Attempts to explain the limitations and constraints of government policy makers in the regulation of street vending. Looks at ways that street vendors in Mexico City create alternative forms of regulation that complement and challenge the state's attempt to impose a "one size fits all' form of regulation for the national economy. Cites two distinct forms of regulation and how these resppond to the different needs of vendors depending on their ability to negotiate their status with the state. Covers the organizations which the vendors have formed to assist them and question the "Mafia" status applied to these by the establishment.

"Informal International Relations" published on by Oxford University Press.

PurposeIn the Soviet Union, the official command structure for economic production and distribution gave rise to, and depended upon, what has been described as a "shadow" economy. In the post‐socialist context, the unregulated, often extra‐legal activities of production and exchange, encompassing the survival strategies of the poor, the emergence of post‐socialist "Mafias", and much entrepreneurial activity, has been described using the concept of the "informal economy".Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on long‐term participatory research over a period of three years.FindingsThe paper argues that what we might think of as informal economic activity in Uzbekistan cannot be understood in relation to a formal economy, but is rather an expression of a more general informalisation of lifeworlds following the end of the Soviet Union. Unlike the situation in the Soviet Union, the informal does not emerge from and exist in relation to formal political and economic structures. The state itself is experienced in personalised terms, as a "Mafia", and the informal is all that there is.Originality/valueThis article provides an original perspective on the informal economy and informalised lifeworlds in Uzbekistan.

The 'informal' economy - economic activity and income outside government regulation, taxation and observation - is difficult to quantify. Recent estimates suggest it accounts, in OECD countries, for around 13% of national income (in the UK, the equivalent of £150 billion) and in developing nations it can make up as much as three-quarters of all non-agricultural employment. Whatever the exact figures, it is clear that the informal economy plays a significant role in national incomes and affects a large share of the global workforce. Colin C. Williams provides an authoritative introduction to the topic, explaining what the informal economy is and how it can best be measured. Taking a global perspective, he examines its characteristics in developed, developing and transitional economies, and looks at its role as a driver of economic growth. The theoretical underpinnings are explored, from conceptual origins in the development models of the 1950s, through to present-day discussions, which question whether a formalised economy is always the ideal. The book considers the economic motivations of the informal economy workforce, which may include tax evasion, circumventing regulations and maintaining state benefits, and assesses the different policy options available to governments to combat them, whether a punitive policy of deterrence, or one of accommodation that recognises the value of the sector in generating income and in meeting the needs of poor consumers. The book provides a masterly summation of the published research on the informal economy and an expert assessment of the key areas for research going forward