INFORMAL RESPONSES TO CRISES OF URBAN EMPLOYMENT - AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRUCTURE AND RELEVANCE OF SMALL-SCALE INFORMAL RETAILING IN KADUNA, NIGERIA

Micro-enterprises in the informal sector of developing countries argua bly possess potential and provide a niche in the employment generation process. In the light of continuing economic decline, this paper arti culates the findings of a study that investigated the socio-economic s ignificance of small-scale informal retailing in Kaduna, Nigeria. Find ings from this empirical study of informal retailing sustain the propo sition that these activities can constitute a dependable source of urb an employment, income and livelihood. The fullest extent of this relev ance is, however, felt mostly by a relatively small category (20%) of core informal enterprises in particular retailing practices. Evidence from this inquiry supports further a conclusion about the existence of a dual informal labour market. External policy constraints operating within the wider macro-economic context limit the potential of informa l retailing in labour absorption and the urban development process.