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Micro-enterprises have traditionally been considered a burden for development, from both the theoretical perspective of social sciences as well as policy praxis. However, for some years now, some of the specialized literature has presented evidence that despite their low productivity, the contribution of the informal economy to job creation and income in less-developed economies is significant. Given that other countries have begun to develop policies to encourage productivity in the informal sector, the main purpose of this paper is to understand, through a review of the regulations that support micro-enterprises, as well as new decrees and regulations, the current position of Mexico in this debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the economic, politic and social conditions around the construction of the Queretaro’s Intercontinental Airport in Mexico. Rural communities surround this airport and the research is oriented to analyze what kinds of changes have been produced in one of the most important locality: San José de Navajas. In order to do so, it is study the negotiation process that allow to expropriate the community land, the conflicts generated as a result of it and the changes in the labor conditions and labor identity of the inhabitants. The research team also studies the expectative of development created in the community as a result of the arrival of foreign direct investment, which supposed to create new jobs in benefit of the community. The results of the research show how negatives effects are produced when government takes unilateral decisions and do not consider the opinion of the community residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, poverty analyses and policies against poverty have incorporated women as a relevant factor. Nevertheless, some criticisms have been raised against them: first, most of the time, they have relied on an instrumental perspective which does not guarantee better conditions of gender equity; second, poverty analyses have generally become reactive tools that seek to compensate for a current situation, not to prevent it from occurring in the future. This paper therefore proposes to go beyond poverty analyses to identify distinctive features of households derived from social constructions that have an effect on vulnerability, particularly in households headed by women. We point out the importance of an analysis from a gender perspective in order to identify the features which make households more vulnerable to suffering or worsening their conditions of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]