The Informal Sector in Kenya: Spatial Variation and Development Alternatives

Abstract

Under the dualistic model of development, the was originally conceived of as the traditional counterpart to the modern industrial sector. In the seminal article on the informal sector, Hart wrote about the informal sector in Accra, posing a series of questions that have not been satisfactorily answered to date. He drew attention to the many methods used by urban dwellers to earn a living, noting that the large degree of uncertainty in the urban economy had led to an element of informality in the economic activities of the subproletariat. Recent migrants and the otherwise unemployed sought work opportunities wherever they could, earning a living outside the modern, industrial framework. In addressing the topic, Hart raised what remains the critical question on the informal sector in developing countries: Does the reserve army of urban unemployed and underemployed really constitute a passive, exploited majority in cities like Accra, or do their informal economic activities possess some autonomous capacity for generating growth in the incomes of the urban (and rural) poor?'

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