Social protection and the role of informal worker associations: A cross-sector analysis of urban sites in Kenya and Tanzania

Based on survey data of informal workers across three different sectors and four urban locations in Kenya and Tanzania, this paper explores the extent to which worker associations facilitate access to social protection. The results reveal that association members are significantly more likely to access formal social insurance, controlling for key worker characteristics. Moreover, across sectors and sites, the provision of loans appears to be the main direct mechanism through which this occurs. In addition, the analysis reveals a substantial earnings-gap between association members and non-members, also when accounting for potential selection into associations. The findings suggest that informal worker associations play an important role both in terms of providing direct cushioning and indirectly through enabling participation in public social insurance schemes.