The Papua New Guinea National Research Institute’s (PNG NRI) publication of Spotlight Volume 15, Issue 17: “Factors driving growth of the urban informal economy in Papua New Guinea” calls for the flow of rural residents to urban areas to be addressed.
On the release of the publication, PNG NRI states, “Migrants move from rural to urban centres in search of employment opportunities to improve their socio-economic conditions”.
“The growth of the informal economy is attributed to a diverse set of complex intertwining social and economic factors which interact to drive its growth.
“This contributes to leakages in government revenue and consequently has adverse impact on available fund for providing infrastructure and services.”
The authors of this Spotlight Issue, Dr Philip Kavan and Dr Elizabeth Kopel, provided a snapshot of some ways that can be used to reduce the flow of rural residents to urban areas.
The authors said that key factors that contribute to the growth of informal economy in urban areas include: Rural to urban migration; Increase of living cost; Unemployment; Lack of education and skills; Informal business; and Tax avoidance.
Dr Kavan and Dr Kopel said, if the intention is to reduce the migration of rural residents to urban areas, aspects such as the improvement of basic services in rural areas and incentives for informal businesses, should be considered among other factors.
The Publication can be accessed on the PNG NRI website https://www.pngnri.org.