The Informal sector in Ecuador: Artisans, Entrepreneurs and Precarious Family Firms

In: Middleton, Alan (2019) The Informal sector in Ecuador: Artisans, Entrepreneurs and Precarious Family Firms. Routledge, Abingdon & New York. ISBN 9780367192105

Abstract

This book looks back over the last 40 years of change and development in Ecuador, showing how macro level changes have impacted families and workplaces at the local level. Traditionally a dependent economy reliant on agricultural export, the impact of neoliberalism and new sources of income from oil has transformed the informal and artisanal sector in Ecuador. Exploring these dynamics using a combination of micro and macro analyses, this book demonstrates how the social relations of the sector are connected to the wider social, economic and political systems in which they operate. The book analyses the links between society and the wider economy, the relationship between different types of microenterprises and their customers, their connection to the formal sector, the importance of social networks and social capital, and the relevance of finance capital in microenterprise development. Overall, the analysis investigates how artisans, entrepreneurs and family-based enterprises seek to protect their interests when faced with the impacts of neoliberalism and globalisation. This longitudinal study will be of considerable interest to researchers of development studies, economics, sociology, human geography, anthropology, and Latin American studies.