Since the beginning of scholarly writing about the informal economy in the mid-1970s, the debate has evolved from addressing survival strategies of the poor to considering the implications for national development and the global economy. Simultaneously, research on informal politics has ranged from neighborhood clientelism to contentious social movements basing their claims on a variety of social identities in their quest for social justice.
Despite related empirical and theoretical concerns, these research traditions have seldom engaged in dialogue with one another. Out of the Shadows brings leading scholars of the informal economy and informal politics together to address how globalization has influenced local efforts to resolve political and economic needs—and how these seemingly separate issues are indeed deeply related.
In addition to the editors, contributors are Javier Auyero, Miguel Angel Centeno, Sylvia Chant, Robert Gay, Mercedes González de la Rocha, José Itzigsohn, Alejandro Portes, and Juan Manuel Ramírez Sáiz.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Patricia Fernández-Kelly
1. The Informal Economy in the Shadow of the State
Miguel Angel Centeno and Alejandro Portes
2. Risk and Regulation in Informal and Illegal Markets
John C. Cross and Sergio Peña
3. Neoliberalism, Markets, and Informal Grassroots Economies
José Itzigsohn
4. Vanishing Assets: Cumulative Disadvantages Among the Urban Poor
Mercedes González de la Rocha
5. Female Household Headship, Privation and Power: Challenging the “Feminization of Poverty” Thesis
Sylvia Chant
6. Protest in Contemporary Argentina: A Contentious Repertoire in the Making
Javier Auyero
7. The Even More Difficult Transition from Clientelism to Citizenship: Lessons from Brazil
Robert Gay
8. Informal Politics in the Mexican Democratic Transition: The Case of the People’s Urban Movement
Juan Manuel Ramírez Sáis
9. “Do You Think Democracy Is a Magical Thing?”—From Basic Needs to Democratization in Informal Politics
Jon Shefner
References
Index
Overview
Since the beginning of scholarly writing about the informal economy in the mid-1970s, the debate has evolved from addressing survival strategies of the poor to considering the implications for national development and the global economy. Simultaneously, research on informal politics has ranged from neighborhood clientelism to contentious social movements basing their claims on a variety of social identities in their quest for social justice.
Despite related empirical and ...