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A publication of the Carnegie Council

Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs

Economic Policy Institute, Global Policy Network, March 1, 2005

Economic Policy Institute, Global Policy Network

Tony Avirgan, L. Josh Bivens & Sarah Gammage, eds.

Putting Employment Back on the International Agenda

"We know only too well that it is precisely the world of work that holds the key for solid, progressive, and long-lasting eradication of poverty. It is through work that people can expand their choices to a better quality of life. It is through work that wealth is created, distributed, and accumulated. It is through work that people find a dignified way out of poverty.…Poverty elimination is impossible unless the economy generates opportunities for investment, entrepreneurship, job creation, and sustainable livelihoods."

–From Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs

Faced with diminishing formal sector job prospects, the informal economy has blossomed in most developing countries over the last two decades. Far from providing workers with a reliable alternative ladder out of poverty, informal economy workers continue to struggle to generate enough income to climb their way out of poverty. “Improving the economic position of informal workers is therefore a powerful potential lever for raising living standards and reducing poverty in the developing world,” argue the editors of Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs, a co-publication of the Global Policy Network and the Economic Policy Institute.

The book provides a comprehensive overview and case studies of policies affecting the evolution of the informal economy in Egypt, El Salvador, India, Russia, and South Africa. Arguing that decent work must be viewed as a key development policy objective, the authors highlight the importance of more proactive macroeconomic and labor market policies that expand formal work opportunities, and protect and expand workforce development opportunities.

Additional resources:
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing

External Link: Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs

Read More: Development, Jobs, India, Russia, South Africa, El Salvador, Egypt, Global