Informal employment and intrinsic motivations to participate in street vending in Machala, Ecuador

Abstract

In the city of Machala, it can be observed that the number of street vendors has been increasing after the pandemic caused by Covid-19, so this research aims to analyze the intrinsic motivations that create informal employment in the Ecuadorian city. To carry out this research, the motivations inherent to underemployment were reviewed from the theories of self-determination and informality. The research was descriptive and explanatory using cross-sectional data and a random sample. Surveys were carried out on 300 informal workers located in the busiest sectors in the city of Machala, the information collected was processed with the statistical program SPSS. The results of the surveys allow us to perceive that 67% of people between 18 and 50 years of age are heads of households, the great majority of whom are motivated by unemployment to carry out informal activities, with incomes below the unified basic salary, with lack of studies and with failures or errors at the time of the undertaking. In conclusion, the strongest determinant of intrinsic motivations for informal work is unemployment.