Industrial Clusters, Institutions, and Poverty in Nigeria

This chapter gives an introduction to the book. It provides the background to the study, including the main themes touched upon—the collective efficiency framework; the organizational structure of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the relationships between owners and employees in informal business environments; human development and poverty, analyzed in a multidimensional perspective; the institutional environment within which labor in developing countries work and improve their living conditions; and the rationale for the study. It further sheds light on the political economy of Nigeria where the research takes place and introduces the case study—the Otigba Information and Communication Technology cluster—used in the book. This chapter also provides insight into the research design used, the key research questions, and the rationale for the use of a single case study and the Otigba cluster in particular. Finally, it gives the reader a road map for the rest of the book.