dc.description.abstract | This thesis is about the role of voice in advancing the needs and interests of informal
sector entrepreneurs. It investigates how and when women and men working in the
informal sector generate and use voice to change a situation that directly affects their
lives. In particular, it examines how collective action in business associations has led
to advancing their voice. The study builds on the voice literature and in particular on
Hirschman’s (1970) work on exit and voice.
The study observes that voice in the informal sector is a topic that has been
insufficiently discussed and conceptualized in the literature. Consequently, the study
argues that voice in the informal sector needs to be better understood and recognized.
To this end, the study identifies, analyses and documents concrete instances in which
jua kalis made efforts to change a situation, rather than to remain quiet or to exit.
The focus of the study is on the organised jua kali voice embodied in jua kali
associations. It addresses the research question of how collective action in business
associations has led to advancing the voice of informal sector entrepreneurs. The
study recognises that the organised voice comprises the voices of individual jua kalis.
Therefore, individual voices are analysed to the extent that they contribute to the
organised jua kali voice.
The study employs a qualitative approach of inquiry examining five jua kali
associations of Homa Bay Town in Kenya as a case study to apply Hirschman’s (1970)
work on voice and exit to the informal sector and to explore in detail specific aspects
of voice in a particular setting. In-depth interviewing of jua kalis and key actors of the
local and national jua kali scene were utilized as primary data generation method
complemented by observation and secondary data (mainly documents). The resulting
interview data was analysed using elements of content analysis and examining
discursive dimensions. Data from observation and secondary sources were used to
complement and verify interview data.
The findings confirm that the jua kali voice can be identified in the jua kali associations.
The study also finds that different voice issues are of importance to specific groups of
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informal workers because of the great heterogeneity among jua kalis. This also leads
to different options of the voicers to articulate voice including when or on what occasion
voice is being employed, why, by whom, triggered by what event or experience, in
what domain, vis-à-vis what audience and at what scale. The study further finds that
voice is pursued by jua kalis individually and/or collectively through different avenues
including business associations and other associations as well as social groupings.
The study concludes that potential voice forums, and in particular business
associations, are actually utilized by informal sector entrepreneurs to advance their
political voice. The study further concludes that voice is likely to be a permanent
feature of the informal sector. The study also concludes that while many informal
sector entrepreneurs use voice and exit, some informal sector entrepreneurs are
neither pro-actively utilizing voice nor fully exiting their business associations but are
‘stuck’ between exit and voice practising ‘open exit’. The study recommends that the
political voice of informal sector entrepreneurs needs to be strengthened to enable
informal sector workers to further advance their interests and influence critical
decision-making processes affecting their lives. | en_US |