I was blown by the amount of knowledge he had regarding the formation of Manchay, and how the economy had been improving or failing over time. As I connected his words to my research I started realizing the disadvantages of an informal economy, and how because of the government there was not much to do. I was speechless by the story of Manchay and how within such a long period of time, they where struggling with the economy and the system of this community, not yet being formalized.
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-- PATRICIO HUANACUNI CHOQUE -- I was surprised by Patricio's interest in the topic; he a variety of statistics and information about the development and economy of the community. it was a valuable interview. Patricio, shared an interesting story of his experience as a local from this community, he talked about his sources of revenue, gave opinions of the government, a quick story about the development of the community, and detailed explanations about the input the government had in this community. Through a long discussion and impressive interview, I was stunned by how he was not content with the economy and slow development of the |
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As some people mostly relate informal economics with business, Paula delivered a strong point: "there's no support from the government". With a confident answer I was surprised by how another local summed up to the list of being unhappy with how the economy in their community worked. Paula, stated an idea, where she mentioned that in the 23 years that she had been living in Manchay, there had been little or no development. It's in this past two years where she has started to see an improvement in roads, light and finally they have water and draining systems. In fact, because there has been no support from the government, there has been a rise in crimes because the system doesn't work properly. |
"It's annoying the way this economy works, because authorities act as if they where blind and they don't act upon the problems. We've knocked on doors, we spoken up, but even with steeping up to improve our education, therefore the economy, they don't support us." | -- MERCEDES MONTOYA -- As Mercedes answered my questions I slowly started to make connections with economics. Even though she related everything back to education, I was able to identify the important role that economics plays in education, especially in a small community, and how informal economics is an aspect that drastically affects education. It's important to notice that due to informality in the economy, the parents from this kids are not developing and many of them live under extreme poverty. Because of this, these children have difficulties learning, and it all relates back to the lack of government regulation in the area. Mercedes mentioned that when she first got to this community there were issues with nutrition, and children where suffering because of lack of food; the government was doing nothing to support the case, while on the other side it was barely possible for parents to treat them, due to the absence of a formal economy. |
Everyday, I'm discovering new information about informal economics; it makes me love my topic. As I've been interviewing different people that are knowledgable about this topic, I've noticed that theres a huge world out there to explore, and I bet the people you least expect are the ones who most know. I had never before noticed the importance of having a formal economy and a supportive government, but now that I've analyzed in detail this community I've recognized how wrong I was. Even if it might have positive effects, it has huge downfalls. Economics has this distorted image of complicated information. The truth, is that you can draw your own conclusions and understand important terms just by talking to people; it's impressive. In reality economics is builded up day-by-day by living situations and how people react to determined issues. |