Neoliberalism, Employment, and the Informal Economy

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

About 50% of workers in Latin America are currently employed in the informal economy. Explanations as to the dynamics of the informal economy have changed over time and debates continue today. Some look at the informal salaried workers and argue that such work is a top-down phenomenon resting on flexibilization policies promoted by national and transnational firms; others look at self-employed workers and stress that they may be seeking autonomy. Others point out that the multifaceted situation of children in the informal economy. This panel revisits the informal economy in various Latin American countries, especially Mexico and Peru.

Sub Track

• Economics and Social Policies

Chair

• Susan M Vincent, St. Francis Xavier University

Individual Presentations

• The Persistence of “the Informal”: How Fuzzy Definitions with Different Objectives are Incorporated into Policy Debates - Ray Bromley, State University of New York/Albany

• Las políticas del neoliberalismo y la crisis actual del subempleo en América Latina - James Martín Cypher, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas

• Neoliberal Peru and the Informal Economy - Susan M Vincent, St. Francis Xavier University

• The Informal Economy and Social Programs in Mexico: A Critique - Tamar Diana Wilson de García, University of Missouri/St. Louis

Discussant

• Ray Bromley, State University of New York/Albany