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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Towards a Differentiation of Small-Scale Industry: An Example from Lusaka |
Author: | Hoppers, Wim |
Year: | 1982 |
Periodical: | African Social Research |
Issue: | 33 |
Period: | June |
Pages: | 175-185 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Zambia |
Subjects: | clothing industry Labor and Employment Development and Technology |
Abstract: | Rather than broad surveys of enterprises selected on the basis of a random descriptive criterion -such as 'all those in a certain location' or 'those with less than ten workers' - there is a need for detailed case-studies of whole sectors of economic activity in which the processes of production at different levels are analysed with all their variations in terms of access to resources and market relations as well as their relations to one another. Such a 'vertical approach makes one cautious as regards an a priori assumption about the existence of a separate 'informal' sector with and independent and untapped potential for income and employment generation. It reveals an internal differentiation of enterprises and complexity of economic relationships which points to wide variations in prospects for advancement among smaller enterprises and in their capacity to absorb would-be entrepreneurs and job-seeking youth. The example in this paper is the structure of the clothing industry in Lusaka. Data were collected in 1981 as part of a wider study of training and employment for out-of-school youth in an urban environment. Ref., notes. |