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Informal Economy and Family Strategies

Informal Economy and Family Strategies BRYAN ROBERTS Introduction The informal economy and family strategies have attracted widespread research attention in both developed and developing countries. The researchers and policy-makers who use these concepts often employ different definitions and various commentators have pointed to intrinsic internal incoherences that call in question the utility of either concept (Moser, 1978; Crow, 1989; Scott, 1991). Yet, the use of both concepts persists in face of these criticisms since they capture, even if imperfectly, contemporary trends that would otherwise be overlooked. This article seeks first to identify some of the basic interrelationships between informal economy and family strategies and then explores the diversity of their manifestations in different parts of the world. The most generally accepted definition of the informal economy is income-earning activities unregulated by the state in contexts where similar activities are so regulated (Castells and Portes, 1989; Feige, 1990). Nothing in this definition implies that the informal economy is a self-contained set of activities that are unrelated, or only weakly related, to activities in the rest of the economy. Family strategies are those implicit principles that guide family members when seeking the family good, whether of survival or social mobility (Moch et al., 1987). As http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Urban and Regional Research Wiley

Informal Economy and Family Strategies

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References (32)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
0309-1317
eISSN
1468-2427
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-2427.1994.tb00248.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

BRYAN ROBERTS Introduction The informal economy and family strategies have attracted widespread research attention in both developed and developing countries. The researchers and policy-makers who use these concepts often employ different definitions and various commentators have pointed to intrinsic internal incoherences that call in question the utility of either concept (Moser, 1978; Crow, 1989; Scott, 1991). Yet, the use of both concepts persists in face of these criticisms since they capture, even if imperfectly, contemporary trends that would otherwise be overlooked. This article seeks first to identify some of the basic interrelationships between informal economy and family strategies and then explores the diversity of their manifestations in different parts of the world. The most generally accepted definition of the informal economy is income-earning activities unregulated by the state in contexts where similar activities are so regulated (Castells and Portes, 1989; Feige, 1990). Nothing in this definition implies that the informal economy is a self-contained set of activities that are unrelated, or only weakly related, to activities in the rest of the economy. Family strategies are those implicit principles that guide family members when seeking the family good, whether of survival or social mobility (Moch et al., 1987). As

Journal

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research – Wiley

Published: Mar 1, 1994

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