Bridging Perspectives

This volume brings together the personal and technical reflections of a group of individuals who undertook a unique Exposure-Dialogue Programme (EDP) with informally employed women in three countries between 2004-2011. The EDP involved a series of dialogues to bridge the seeming gulf between the perspectives of mainstream economists and those of ground level activists, heterodox economists, and non-economist social scientists.

An integral part of the process was spending a few days and nights living and working with the families of women who earn their living in the informal economy, bringing the group closer to the reality that technical analysis is meant to capture. Five such Exposures were undertaken: in Ahmedabad, India (2004 and 2008), Durban, South Africa (2007 and 2011) and Oaxaca, Mexico (2009). After each, members of the group further explored their experiences through written reflections. These writings highlight a remarkable process of personal enlightenment and group discourse on informality, poverty, gender and economics.