Globalization, the Financial Crisis and Petty Commodity Production in India’s Socially Regulated Informal Economy

Abstract

This chapter explores some theoretical and practical problems arising from the impact of liberalization/globalization and its latest crisis on India’s informal economy — heavily populated by petty commodity producers and petty traders (henceforth pcp). Its theoretical focus is the distinctions between pcp and ‘labour’ more generally because it is now common practice theoretically to elide the two kinds of work.2 Reviewing field material it focuses on two aspects of India’s informal economy — the persistence of small firms and their regulation by social institutions rather than by the state. These social institutions express identity as well as class. The practical focus of this chapter is on the impact of globalization and the financial crisis on pcp in India.KeywordsForeign Direct InvestmentInformal SectorTrade LiberalisationInternational Labour OrganizationInformal EconomyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.