Informal Economy Budget Analysis

Informal Economy Budget AnalysisInformal Economy Budget Analysis (IEBA) examines how government budgets address the needs and interests of different groups of informal workers. It also explores what opportunities exist for informal workers (or their representatives) to participate at different stages of the budget process.

Pioneered by the women’s movement, interrogation of resource allocation within government budgets has proved to be a powerful policy analysis and advocacy tool. WIEGO has adapted these techniques for the informal economy.

IEBA was developed and tested in South Africa by Debbie Budlender, Francie Lund, Caroline Skinner, and Imraan Valodia as part of the Durban Informal Economy Policy Process.

WIEGO then commissioned an analysis of government budgets from an informal economy perspective in four cities: Belo Horizonte in Brazil, Lahore in Pakistan, Metropolitan Lima in Peru, and Quezon City in the Philippines. Debbie Budlender provided technical guidance for this.

Case Reports

Each case focused on both the national budget and a city budget. In each case, country researchers drafted detailed research reports. See:

A policy dialogue was held to share and discuss the findings with membership-based organizations of informal workers and other relevant stakeholders.

Briefs

Debbie Budlender drafted popular versions of these reports. See:

Read the consolidated report summarizing the findings from the four cities: Budlender, D. Informal Economy Budget Analysis in Brazil, Pakistan, Peru and Philippines. WIEGO Working Paper No. 11.

Guide on Conducting IEBA

Debbie Budlender also drafted a guide on how to conduct informal economy budget analyses. This guide is aimed at researchers and others who might like to undertake IEBAs in other cities and countries. See:

The research reference team for this project consisted of Marty Chen (WIEGO International Co-ordinator and Harvard University) and Francie Lund (WIEGO Social Protection Programme Director and University of KwaZulu-Natal).

Read Background of IEBA.