South Africa - Constraints to Growth in Johannesburg's Black Informal Sector : Evidence from the 1999 Informal Sector Survey
The report is the third in a series of reports that evolved from a collaboration between the local government of the City of Johannesburg, and the World Bank in 1999-2000 on the theme of local economic development. It presents the main findings of...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/06/1968407/south-africa-constraints-growth-johannesburgs-black-informal-sector-evidence-1999-informal-sector-survey http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15388 |
| Summary: | The report is the third in a series of
reports that evolved from a collaboration between the local
government of the City of Johannesburg, and the World Bank
in 1999-2000 on the theme of local economic development. It
presents the main findings of the 1999 World Bank informal
sector survey, which covered a number of mostly black
informal firm owners across manufacturing, and service
sectors, based on firm owners responses, and firm level
data. The objectives of the study are to a) examine the
characteristics, and constraints facing informal firms in
Johannesburg. The government has since 1994, rested its goal
of poverty, and inequality-reduction in South Africa, on
private sector-led job creation, and, has made a political
commitment to black empowerment, allocating resources for
credit, and training, as well as other small and medium
scale enterprise (SMSE) promotion programs; and, b) explore
the policy implications of government assistance to the
informal sector, on grounds of poverty reduction, and job
creation for the poor. The merit of supporting the sector on
the basis of apartheid-created racial inequality, is also
examined. Based on international experience, micro-finance
should focus on outreach, quality of services, and measures
of financial sustainability. Issues for further research,
specific to South Africa, include fiscal feasibility of
micro credit, and training programs, incorporating the
element of firm growth, and prospects for graduation to
formal SMSE, with credit availability being contingent on
successful completion of small business training. |
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