Doctoral Dissertation Research in Geography and Regional Science

发展中国家城市的许多经济活动都是由非正式经营者进行的。这些人独立工作或在小型组织中工作，绕过政府的正式控制或监督。近几十年来，从事这类活动的城市人口比例迅速增长，导致学者们争论非正规经济部门是否作为一个单独的单位发挥作用，或者它是否在一个更广泛的框架内发挥作用，在这个框架内，正式经济机构仍然保持主要权力。这个博士论文项目将研究厄瓜多尔基多非正式经济活动的形式和功能，以描述活动的结构和多样性，并分析参与非正式活动的人如何相互作用，以及与其他个人和机构的互动。将对厄瓜多尔三个最大城市的劳动力数据进行分析，以比较正规和非正规经济模式，并对从事非正规活动的人员进行访谈，以检查非正规部门人员、正规部门人员和政府之间的联系。还将注意查明工作关系如何影响从事非正式活动的人的经济流动性。这个项目将提供有关从事非正式经济活动的人的业务的宝贵数据和分析。虽然该项目侧重于厄瓜多尔的案例研究，但其见解将对在其他地方开展相关工作的人员非常有用。该项目还将为有前途的青年学者提供继续发展独立研究技能的绝佳机会。

Much of the economic activity in cities located in developing nations is conducted by persons who operate informally. These people work independently or in small organizations in ways that circumvent formal government control or supervision. The share of urban populations engaged in these types of activities has grown rapidly in recent decades, leading scholars to debate whether the informal economic sector functions as a separate unit or whether it performs within a broader framework within which formal economic establishments still maintain primary power. This doctoral dissertation project will examine the form and function of informal economic activities in Quito, Ecuador, in order to describe the structure and diversity of activities and to analyze how persons engaged in informal activities interact with each other and with other individuals and institutions. Labor-force data in Ecuador's three largest cities will be analyzed to compare formal-informal economic patterns, and interviews with persons engaged in informal activities will be conducted to examine links among persons in the informal sector, the formal sector, and the government. Attention also will be given to identifying how working relations affect the economic mobility of persons engaged in informal activities. This project will provide valuable data and analyses of the operations of persons engaged in informal economic activities. Although focusing on an Ecuadorian case study, the insights from this project will be of great use to persons conducting related work elsewhere. This project also will provide an excellent opportunity for a promising young scholar to continue to develop independent research skills.