Relay points for disseminating results

2The originality and importance of the themes addressed (informality, poverty and inequality, etc.) and the replication of the survey systems that provide real-time monitoring of phenomena of general interest (poverty, unemployment, underemployment) have obviously had an important bearing on the impacts obtained. The dissemination strategy was carried out in close association with the partner institutions (in this case mainly the NSIs), guaranteeing the sustainability of actions taken.

3Beyond the existing commonalities, the intervention methods had to be adjusted to the local situation (e.g. prevailing socio-economic conditions, role of the media, nature of the political regime). In Madagascar, the strategy focused on attracting the attention of the media so that they could play their true role of relaying information to civil society, which in turn would command the attention of politicians. The local NSI, which initially took a back seat, eventually took full ownership of the dissemination policy initiated by us. In Vietnam, where information is under close political control, dissemination undergoes a long, hierarchical approval process. The strategy here involved mobilising strategic interlocutors (well-known personalities or donors) who acted as relays for disseminating the results to decision-makers or a wider audience. In Peru, the media play a much more significant role, and the NSI is a better known institution that enjoys a certain level of recognition. The dissemination of the work was thus part of the NSI’s official policy of communication with the media.

Role of partners

4The 1-2-3 survey was not an accredited method.1 IRD researchers trained their partners in this method as part of long-term collaborations. These partners in turn trained statisticians who disseminated the method. The dissemination and adoption of the methodology by the various national partners has led today to this methodology being adapted locally under other names.2 It could be argued that accreditation could have slowed down adoption of the method by managerial staff or national institutions.

Contribution to regional or international projects to promote the circulation of knowledge

5Dial contributed by sharing lessons learned from the first 1-2-3 surveys, particularly from the phase involving the development of international norms and standards for analysing the informal economy (definition and measurement of informality). The researchers participated in the preparatory meetings for the 15th Conference of Labour Statisticians (1993), and in the reflections of the Delhi Group, mandated by the United Nations to refine and operationalise the concepts. They were involved in writing the reference manual on methods for measuring informality (ILO, 2013). Dial also contributed to various international projects on measuring the informal economy and related concepts or training, including: updating informal employment statistics worldwide by gender for the ILO (ILO/WIEGO, 2013), thanks in particular to its expertise on the use of employment surveys; participation in the Recap project (Strengthening the Capacity to Devise and Analyse Decent Work Indicators) carried out by the ILO in 2012 as part of a European Union call for tenders; on the analytical front, the international research project analysing the informal sector in Africa (Unlocking Potential: Tackling economic and social constraints of informal entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa; 2009–2011), funded by the World Bank, was based entirely on utilising phases 2 and 3 of the 1-2-3 surveys, while the utilisation of phase 1 resulted in a summary book on urban labour markets in Africa (De Vreyer and Roubaud, 2013); various components of the NoPoor project (financed by the European Commission under its seventh Framework Research and Development Programme [FRDP]), which covers some twenty countries, have used 1-2-3 surveys to carry out both methodological and analytical work based on a comparative approach; and lastly, coordination and participation in the inter-country programme Integrating the Informal Economy into the National Accounts (Iena), involving seven pilot countries.

6In a similar vein, the Parstat programme (Comparative analysis of the labour market and poverty trends in Africa, 2001–2004) played a key role at the African and international levels. The aim of this regional statistical support programme was to improve statistics on employment and the informal sector in Waemu Member States through the implementation of 1-2-3 surveys. The results were to be used as a tool for steering the region’s economies. This initiative, commissioned by the Waemu Commission with funding from the European Union, was entrusted to Afrisat, which, with technical support from IRD-Dial, was responsible for coordinating the activities carried out in each country by their NSIs.

7Furthermore, in Latin America, collaboration with the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), with the support of French and then European cooperation once the conceptual and methodological foundations had been laid, had an impact on the countries of the sub-region (Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela). The aim of this partnership with a regional organisation was to promote South-South sharing of experiences, particularly between the NSIs of the countries concerned, with Peru’s Inei playing a pivotal role, but also to harmonise concepts, definitions, classifications and labour market indicators that take informal employment into account. All this work was integrated into the 2000–2004 community statistical programme, with the CAN Secretariat of Statistics organising, with the support of French cooperation, eight meetings of government experts in informal sector statistics (from June 2000 in Caracas to January 2004 in Lima), and the publication of a summary work (Herrera et al., 2004). More recently, as a continuation of South-South cooperation, the Inei (in association with IRD researchers) helped to facilitate a workshop in Argentina on informality and national accounting (within the SOCIEUX+ project, 8–12 May 2017).

8Collaboration is ongoing between IRD researchers and AFD, the OECD Development Centre, the ILO and PARIS21, using 1-2-3 surveys to analyse poverty, social protection, the adequacy of training for employment and, more broadly, to promote “statistical literacy” (the ability to use statistical data to study phenomena and inform decisions). The full significance of these various objectives becomes apparent in the context of the SDGs and the “data revolution”.

Circulation of knowledge through specific outputs for communication

9The circulation of knowledge was supported by various communication tools/outputs.

10A documentary film was made on the informal sector in Vietnam: Saigon informel : les travailleurs de la zone grise [Informal Saigon: workers in the grey zone] (26 minutes, directed by Axel Demenet, Vincent Doubrere, Jean-Yves Ricci; scientific advisor: François Roubaud). This film, co-produced by the IRD in 2016, highlights and builds on the research results of this IRD programme in Vietnam. It was co-directed by a researcher who completed his thesis in this area. The film describes the working conditions of informal sector workers by combining the experiences of those involved and interviews with scientists. It aims to raise awareness among the general public and the authorities of an often ignored issue that concerns all developing countries. This film has been the subject of several screenings and debates in France (notably as part of the Jean Rouch International Festival in 2016), in Vietnam, but also in Madagascar and Côte d’Ivoire. This documentary is also a teaching aid, used during training sessions in the Global North and the Global South. In particular, it was screened at the French Institute of Madagascar (IFM) on 12 December 2017 during the IFM/IRD conference series entitled “Science in Pictures”.

11Speeches from a conference on the informal sector at AFD are available on the internet: Mireille Razafindrakoto and Jean-Pierre Cling, “Quelle politique pour le secteur informel ? [What policy for the informal sector?]”, on the ID4D website (Ideas4Development.org), 30 October 2013.

12Various radio and television programmes have also served as a channel for conveying the methodology and results. The most recent was the participation of François Roubaud and Mireille Razafindrakoto in the programme “Sept milliards de voisins” [“Seven Billion Neighbours”] on RFI, on 22 January 2019. The theme of the programme was informal employment in developing countries.

13The same is true of the many popular articles. For example:

• Roubaud F., “Fiscaliser le secteur informel : est-ce souhaitable, est-ce possible ? [Taxing the informal sector: is it advisable, is it possible?]”, May 1997, Onudi-Challenge, Madagascar, June 1997, p. 4;
• Roubaud F., “Le travail urbain en Afrique sub-saharienne : l’informalisation de l’économie, le chômage et l’emploi [Urban labour in sub-Saharan Africa: the informalisation of the economy, unemployment and employment]”, Dialogue, 4, Dial, December 1995: 5-8;
• Marchés tropicaux : article on Cameroon entitled “Économie et informel : une interview de François Roubaud [Economy and Informal: an interview with François Roubaud]” (Virginie Gomez: 76-79), 12 January 2001;
• Numerous IRD scientific fact sheets, including: Emploi et marché du travail : les premières données statistiques disponibles pour sept capitales africaines [Employment and the labour market: the first statistical data available for seven African capitals], fact sheet no. 218, January 2005;
• Roubaud F., “L’économie informelle est-elle un frein au développement et à la croissance économique ? [Is the informal economy a brake on development and economic growth?]”, Regards croisés sur l’économie, 14, special issue, 2014, Lumières sur les économies souterraines : 109-121.