Region: Nigeria

Beyond urban vulnerability: interrogating the social sustainability of a livelihood in the informal economy of Nigerian cities.

Aba is a politically volatile, economically vibrant but environmentally poor city that is a microcosm of social conditions in the Nigerian...

“The Poor Also Must Live!” Market Demolition, Gentrification and the Quest for Survival in Lagos State

Report on demolition of traditional open markets, as part of the State government programme to develop Lagos into a “mega city”. This...

Identity Economics: Social Networks and the Informal Economy in Nigeria

Informal Economies and Urban Governance in Nigeria: Popular Empowerment or Political Exclusion?African Studies Review

Abstract:

The tangled web of associational life: Urban governance and the politics of popular livelihoods in Nigeria

The politics of vulnerability: Exit, voice and capture in three Nigerian informal manufacturing clusters

Abstract:This book chapter examines whether informal economic associations provide an effective mechanism for political voice. Moreover,...

Social Capital, Social Liabilities, and Political Capital: Social Networks and Informal Manufacturing in NigeriaAfrican Affairs

Abstract: This article addresses the question of why social networks have failed to promote economic development in Africa when they have...

Disempowerment from Below: Informal Enterprise Networks and the Limits of Political Voice in NigeriaOxford Development Studies

Abstract: Decentralized governance has enjoyed limited success in promoting popular livelihoods and political voice among informal actors....

The Informal Economy Driving World Business

National Public Radio (NPR) interviews Robert Neuwirth, author of  “Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy.” ...

Our Story Our Struggle: Lagos Tailors

This booklet emerged out of discussions in a workshop with representatives of the National Union of Tailors, Lagos. The workshop was facilitated...