The analysis of effective factors on centralization of informal employment in the border city of Baneh

Commercial and border exchanges in Baneh city were carried out on a limited scale until the late 1980s. However, from the early 1990s with the construction of the border market of Siranband, commercial exchanges prospered in this city. The increase in the import of smuggled goods and the number of tourists created a context for certain jobs like street vendors and house renting. Although commercial prosperity in Baneh has had positive effects such as the creation of employment and increased economic power, the intensive centralization of informal activities in a small area of the city has caused many problems including congestion, sound pollution, air pollution, heavy traffic and reduction in the quality of life in the central area of the city. Therefore, undertaking research to reduce problems resulting from centralization of informal activities in the central area of Baneh as an area that is most influenced by these activities seems necessary. This research attempts to study the factors influencing informal employment in the border city of Baneh and suggests solutions for decreasing its negative impacts. Considering the extensive aspects of the research question in this study, various tools and approaches including survey, interviews with residents, sellers and experts and secondary analysis approach were used. This study has benefited from GIS and AUTOCAD software for drawing the plans and SPSS and EXCEL software for describing the statistic data. In the first stage of the process, the indices of informal employment were extracted. Secondly, after classifying the jobs under formal and informal categories, the distribution maps of formal and informal jobs were prepared. Then, by matching the maps, the exact area of centralization of informal trade was defined. Finally, the impacts of informal trade on this area were evaluated. The results indicate that being close to the border, the existence of social attachments beyond the border, lack of employment opportunities in the region, lack of customs laws and the smuggling of goods are the most important factors resulting in informal employment in this city. In conclusion, the increase in informal trade results in changes in land use from residential to commercial and growth of commercial complexes, horizontal and vertical development of the city, increasing the number of false jobs and heavy traffic. To reduce the problems caused by centralization of informal employment in Baneh, correct management of the market, expedition in the development of infrastructure, decrease in the centralization of commercial complexes and services in the central area and organizing the traffic plans of the central area are recommended.