Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities

How do cities build a social contract with their diverse constituencies and foster political trust among the urban poor? This study focuses on informal traders, who constitute a major source of food security and employment in urban Africa. Centered on Ghana’s three main cities, we analyze interviews...

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Main Authors: Resnick, Danielle, Sivasubramanian, Bhavna
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143520
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author Resnick, Danielle
Sivasubramanian, Bhavna
author_browse Resnick, Danielle
Sivasubramanian, Bhavna
author_facet Resnick, Danielle
Sivasubramanian, Bhavna
author_sort Resnick, Danielle
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description How do cities build a social contract with their diverse constituencies and foster political trust among the urban poor? This study focuses on informal traders, who constitute a major source of food security and employment in urban Africa. Centered on Ghana’s three main cities, we analyze interviews with metropolitan policymakers and a survey of approximately 1,200 informal traders. The findings show that expectations about reciprocity and procedural justice play a key role in shaping the probability of trusting one’s local government. Lower levels of trust were associated with disappointment over the lack of benefits that accompany tax payments to local assemblies. Moreover, those who had experienced harassment by city authorities were less likely to trust their local government. The analysis demonstrates that political trust at the subnational level deserves greater empirical attention, especially as countries continue to deepen decentralization initiatives and cities strive to meet global development goals around inclusivity.
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spelling CGSpace1435202025-12-02T21:02:40Z Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities Resnick, Danielle Sivasubramanian, Bhavna informal sector politics urban areas urbanization capacity development trade decentralization towns governance agricultural trade How do cities build a social contract with their diverse constituencies and foster political trust among the urban poor? This study focuses on informal traders, who constitute a major source of food security and employment in urban Africa. Centered on Ghana’s three main cities, we analyze interviews with metropolitan policymakers and a survey of approximately 1,200 informal traders. The findings show that expectations about reciprocity and procedural justice play a key role in shaping the probability of trusting one’s local government. Lower levels of trust were associated with disappointment over the lack of benefits that accompany tax payments to local assemblies. Moreover, those who had experienced harassment by city authorities were less likely to trust their local government. The analysis demonstrates that political trust at the subnational level deserves greater empirical attention, especially as countries continue to deepen decentralization initiatives and cities strive to meet global development goals around inclusivity. 2020-05-01 2024-05-22T12:14:48Z 2024-05-22T12:14:48Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143520 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145891 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145879 https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-021-00408-x Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Resnick, Danielle; and Sivasubramanian, Bhavna. 2020. Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1938. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133774.
spellingShingle informal sector
politics
urban areas
urbanization
capacity development
trade
decentralization
towns
governance
agricultural trade
Resnick, Danielle
Sivasubramanian, Bhavna
Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities
title Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities
title_full Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities
title_fullStr Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities
title_full_unstemmed Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities
title_short Negotiating the social contract in urban Africa: Informal food traders in Ghanaian cities
title_sort negotiating the social contract in urban africa informal food traders in ghanaian cities
topic informal sector
politics
urban areas
urbanization
capacity development
trade
decentralization
towns
governance
agricultural trade
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143520
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