ldvlp2335  2020-2021  Louvain-la-Neuve

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information below is subject to change, in particular that concerning the teaching mode (presential, distance or in a comodal or hybrid format).
5 credits
30.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Kervyn De Lettenhove Maïté (compensates Lemaître Andreia); Lemaître Andreia;
Language
French
Main themes
Informal economic activities are a persistent reality in today's world and constitute a key component of Southern societies. More than 50% of the workforce and almost 90% of SMEs worldwide operate in the informal economy (ILO, 2018). If agricultural employment was included in these statistics, the share of informal employment in total world employment would reach 61%, with even higher percentages in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (ILO, 2018).
The scientific literature apprehends these economic activities through the concepts of "informal sector", "popular economy" or "solidarity economy". The seminar aims to study, through these different conceptual grids, the socio-economic logics that are pursued by the actors operating in the informal economy. Anchored in this heterogeneous empirical reality, the seminar also puts in perspective mainstream development theories, like the theories of modernization.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 At the end of the seminar, the student must have developed an in depth understanding of the different analytical grids developed by the scientific literature on informal socio-economic practices. He/she must be able to discuss these grids, compare them and mobilize them in order to critically assess various case studies and decode complex socio-economic realities. He/she must finally be able to situate these scientific concepts within broader development theories and contemporary debates on social protection and development.
 
Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.



Ex-cathedra lectures present the theoretical background necessary for the appropriation of the topics related to the informal economy, the popular economy and the solidarity economy. The active pedagogy mobilized during following sessions consists, for the students, in providing a personal and detailed analysis of one aspect of the informal sector, relying on a body of key academic articles of this field of development studies.
Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

The assessment focuses on the individual presentation of a key article from the scientific literature on the informal sector, popular economy or solidarity economy. The student will present the article by situating the article within the subject and debates seen in class, by criticizing it, by supplementing it with other scientific articles, by illustrating it with case studies if applicable, etc.
Other information
Prerequisite: LSPED1212 Development Analysis
Online resources
See the MoodleUCLouvain site of the course
Faculty or entity
PSAD


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Population and Development Studies