Livelihoods Survival Strategies of Informal Sector Workers and Influencing Factors

Abstract

The aims of this research are to determine: 1) Livelihood survival strategies of informal sector workers during the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) Factors that influence the choice of survival strategy taken; and 3) Model of livelihood survival strategies for informal sector workers based on socio-economic characteristics and factors that influence them. The research was conducted in Denpasar City and Badung Regency in Bali Province, Indonesia. Sampling was carried out by purposive sampling with 150 respondents. Survey methods are used for data collection in the field. The variables used in the research include: socio-economic characteristics of informal sector workers, survival strategy variables, and variable factors that influence the choice of survival strategy adopted. The data analysis method uses descriptive analysis and multivariate analysis using multinomial logistic regression analysis. It was found that most respondents used more than one strategy to survive and maintain the continuity of their business. The most important survival strategy chosen by respondents among the five strategy choices, the results obtained are: Relying on other family members (36.6 percent), taking loans from informal lenders (30.7 percent), followed by the strategy of apply for government social assistance programs (18.7 percent), job mobility strategies (10.0 percent), and only 4 percent chose negative coping strategies such as selling assets as the main strategy in an effort to survive and maintain the business in pandemic period. Respondent's answer to the first choice regarding the factors that influence the choice of the main survival strategy is due to the respondent's ownership of livelihood assets in the form of social capital (32.0 percent), financial capital 29.3 percent, 24.0 percent due to ownership of physical capital/physical asset ownership, 13.0 percent due to ownership of human capital (human resources that can be utilized/available, Human Resources Education), and only 1.3 percent due to natural capital and access to infrastructure. The livelihood strategies model for informal sector workers with multinomial logistic regression obtained from socio-economic characteristic variables, variable factors that influence the selection of survival strategies adopted with the main survival strategy variables produces a classification accuracy of 93.2 percent, indicating that the model formed accurately describe the data.