TY - BOOK AU - Chen, Martha TI - COVID-19, cities and urban informal workers: India in comparative perspective CY - The Indian Journal of Labour Economics KW - COVID-19, Cities, Urban informal workers, Labour N2 - Informal workers represent 61% of all workers globally—a total of 2 billion workers worldwide (ILO 2018). Of these, an estimated 1.6 billion—80%—could see their livelihoods destroyed due to the lockdowns and related shelter-at-home restrictions in response to COVID-19 (ILO 2020). Since long before the COVID-19 virus hit, informal workers have been struggling for justice, equality and dignity as workers and as human beings in large part because they are widely stigmatized by economists and policy makers as illegal and non-productive, while most are trying to earn an honest living under a very harsh policy and regulatory environment. – Reproduced BR - AR125652 ER -