Post on 02-Apr-2015
Inclusive Markets and Paradigm Maintenance:
Informal Enterprise, Economic Inclusion and Islamic Extremism in
Nigeria
Kate MeagherLondon School of Economics
Making Growth Inclusive
• Market-led dev’t has brought jobless growth, expanding informality and poverty• Rise of more inclusive approaches to
development – post-2015 buzzword• Inclusive markets/BoP as solution to
unemployment and informality – connect poor into global markets• Dynamics of inclusion create new
dynamics of exclusion
Considering Inclusive Markets
Inclusive Markets: • Poverty as market failure – solution is
greater integration of poor into markets• beyond redistribution, aid dependence• Incorporate poor as agents of dev’t• Focus on structural transformation – link
business and finance to BoP to create jobs, foster entrepreneurship, financial inclusion
New Dynamics of Exclusion
• Processes of inclusion selective – selectively engage and reshape institutions, workers, subjectivities
Dark side of inclusive markets:• Open up new inequalities between
regions, workers, consumers• extractive effects on included;
displacement, marginalization, criminalization of those who don’t qualify for inclusion
A Tale of Two NigeriasNational inclusion: • Inclusive market success story -- MINT – high
grwth rates, rising investor engagement• Parallel tale of poverty, illiteracy and Islamic
terrorismInclusion: solution or problem?• exacerbated regional inequality – North: ed.
disadvantage, economy gutted by SAP• Fractious, uned. labour force, poor gov’ce –
unattractive to investors• Consider dynamics of exclusion unleashed by
inclusive markets
Methodology
• Fieldwork in April 2014 in Kano and Kaduna• 8 common informal activities –
stratified into modern, trad., survival• 53 interviews with associations and
rank and file• Survey of 187 operators• Core issue: inclusion generating
new patterns of competition in IE among those who don’t qualify
Contestation over Access to IE
• Saturation of informal economy• Nearly 1/3 don’t own own enterprise, esp.
survivalists• Avg 12 years in business – absorbed as
workers not entrepreneurs• Contestation by state indigenes over access
to IE• crowding into activities once dominated by
migrants – 55% indigenes• Resentment against entry of non-indigenes
– take jobs, reduce incomes
Activity Type
Years in This
Activity
Owner
Work for others
Share of Indigenes
Modern 10.4 73.8 26.2 63.6Traditional 15.3 79.3 20.7 58.3
Survival 9.6 53.3 46.7 42.6Average 11.7 68.9 31.1 55.1
Education
• High levels of education in IE• 42% seced or higher• In lowly activs, 12% post-sec.• Lucrative activ’s – 61% at
least seced; ~20% post sec.• In lucrative activ's, graduates
crowding out traditional actors – monopolize market opp’ties
New Religious Movements
• Rise of fundamentalist Islamic movements -- competitive ethos, intolerant• Eroding econ networks
between Muslims and Christians• dominating lucrative activ’s,
monopolizing associations, marginalizing Christians, other Muslims, poor
Internal Dynamics of Exclusion
• efforts to promote graduate entrepreneurshp, link informal services into GVCs (transport, butchers)• Ignore existing stresses on N.
Nigerian IE• Channelling graduates into IE,
upgrading, exacerbates crowding out of traditional operators
Beyond Inclusion
• National inclusion selective – put investors over needs of poor and unemployed• regional dynamic of marginalization, internal
dynamic of competition over scarce informal jobs• Inclusive policies make things worse –
indigenes, fundamentalists and graduates crowd out losers -- radicalization• Inclusive markets offer adverse terms and
perverse dynamics of exclusion -- another ‘Faustian bargain’?