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Theorising Entrepreneurship in the Informal Sector in Urban Brazil: A Product of Exit or Exclusion?

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  • Colin C. Williams
  • Youssef Youssef

Abstract

This article evaluates critically the competing explanations for informal sector entrepreneurship that read such endeavours to result from either ‘exclusion’ from state benefits and the circuits of the modern economy or the voluntary ‘exit’ of workers from formal institutions. Reporting evidence from a 2003 survey in urban Brazil, it is revealed that similar proportions of informal sector entrepreneurs explain their participation to result from their involuntary exclusion and voluntary exit from the formal economy. The outcome is a call to shift from an either/or to a both/and approach when explaining informal sector entrepreneurship and for wider research on the relative weightings given to exit and exclusion in different contexts so as to develop a socio-spatially contingent explanation for participation in informal sector entrepreneurship across the globe.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin C. Williams & Youssef Youssef, 2015. "Theorising Entrepreneurship in the Informal Sector in Urban Brazil: A Product of Exit or Exclusion?," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 24(2), pages 148-168, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jouent:v:24:y:2015:i:2:p:148-168
    DOI: 10.1177/0971355715586897
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Colin C. Williams, 2013. "Beyond The Formal Economy: Evaluating The Level Of Employment In Informal Sector Enterprises In Global Perspective," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 1-21.
    2. Packard, Truman G., 2007. "Do workers in Chile choose informal employment? A dynamic analysis of sector choice," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4232, The World Bank.
    3. Webb, Justin W. & Bruton, Garry D. & Tihanyi, Laszlo & Ireland, R. Duane, 2013. "Research on entrepreneurship in the informal economy: Framing a research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 598-614.
    4. Risa Whitson, 2007. "Hidden Struggles: Spaces of Power and Resistance in Informal Work in Urban Argentina," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(12), pages 2916-2934, December.
    5. Guillermo E. Perry & William F. Maloney & Omar S. Arias & Pablo Fajnzylber & Andrew D. Mason & Jaime Saavedra-Chanduvi, 2007. "Informality : Exit and Exclusion," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6730.
    6. Colin C. Williams & John Round & Peter Rodgers, 2009. "Evaluating The Motives Of Informal Entrepreneurs: Some Lessons From Ukraine," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(01), pages 59-71.
    7. Olumide TAIWO, 2013. "Employment choice and mobility in multi-sector labour markets: Theoretical model and evidence from Ghana," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 152(3-4), pages 469-492, December.
    8. Haller, William J. & Portes, Alejandro, 2004. "La economía informal," Políticas Sociales 6091, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    9. Maloney, William F., 2004. "Informality Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1159-1178, July.
    10. John Round & Colin C. Williams & Peter Rodgers, 2008. "Corruption in the post-Soviet workplace: the experiences of recent graduates in contemporary Ukraine," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(1), pages 149-166, March.
    11. Colin C. Williams, 2006. "The Hidden Enterprise Culture," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3948.
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Adu-Gyamfi & John Kuada & Simplice A. Asongu, 2023. "An Integrative Framework for Formal and Informal Entrepreneurship Research in Africa," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 167-187, April.
    2. Colin C. Williams & Abbi M. Kedir, 2017. "Starting-up unregistered and firm performance in Turkey," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 797-817, September.
    3. Colin C. Williams, 2023. "A Modern Guide to the Informal Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 18668.
    4. Adu-Gyamfi, Richard & Kuada, John & Asongu, Simplice, 2018. "An Integrative Framework for Entrepreneurship Research in Africa," MPRA Paper 89133, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Colin C Williams & Abbi M. Kedir, 2016. "Business Registration And Firm Performance: Some Lessons From India," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(03), pages 1-19, September.
    6. Ligita Gasparėnienė & Rita Remeikienė & Colin C. Williams, 2022. "Unemployment and the Informal Economy," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, number 978-3-030-96687-4, October.
    7. Amanda Haarman & Marcus M. Larsen & Rebecca Namatovu, 2022. "Understanding the Firm in the Informal Economy: A Research Agenda," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(6), pages 3005-3025, December.
    8. Boris Urban & Angeline Muzamhindo, 2018. "An Empirical Investigation into Institutions Unlocking Entrepreneurial Activity," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 27(1), pages 65-82, March.

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