The informal economy did not disappear, nor did it decrease. Despite early predictions of its eventual demise, it has not only grown worldwide, but also emerged in new forms and unexpected places. This book presents some in-depth cases regarding specific informal economic activities in Brazil. Using an ethnographic approach, the Author shows the social and economic processes that allow the informal economy to be reproduced, revealing the complex and heterogeneous relations between the formal and the informal parts of economy. Throughout detailed descriptions of informality in action, the book provides interesting starting-points to investigate the renewed dilemmas of the informal economy and its linkages with globalization processes.

This book presents some in-depth cases regarding specific informal economic activities in Brazil. Using an ethnographic approach, the author shows the social and economic processes that allow the informal economy to be reproduced, revealing the complex and heterogeneous relations between the formal and the informal parts of economy.