IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/reorpe/v52y2020i3p470-486.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Precarization, Informalization, and Marx

Author

Listed:
  • Tamar Diana Wilson

Abstract

It is argued that informalization (used primarily to understand economic dynamics in the Global South) and precarization (used primarily in the analysis of the labor market in the Global North) are in the process of becoming identical phenomena and are both related to the expansion of the reserve army of labor. Insights from Marx are useful in understand both processes, especially his concepts of the value of labor, of formal subsumption vs. real subsumption, and of absolute vs. relative surplus value. The vast expansion and globalization of the labor force has fostered the trend toward a reversion to formal subsumption and facilitated the recommodification of labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Tamar Diana Wilson, 2020. "Precarization, Informalization, and Marx," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 470-486, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:52:y:2020:i:3:p:470-486
    DOI: 10.1177/0486613419843199
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0486613419843199
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0486613419843199?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Standing, Guy, 1999. "Global Feminization Through Flexible Labor: A Theme Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 583-602, March.
    2. Ronaldo Munck, 2013. "The Precariat: a view from the South," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(5), pages 747-762.
    3. Standing, Guy, 1989. "Global feminization through flexible labor," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(7), pages 1077-1095, July.
    4. Tamar Diana Wilson, 2017. "Sons of Peasants on the Beach: Vendors in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico," Research in Economic Anthropology, in: Anthropological Considerations of Production, Exchange, Vending and Tourism, volume 37, pages 205-229, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Reich, Michael & Gordon, David M & Edwards, Richard C, 1973. "A Theory of Labor Market Segmentation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(2), pages 359-365, May.
    6. Vosko, Leah F., 2011. "Managing the Margins: Gender, Citizenship, and the International Regulation of Precarious Employment," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199575091.
    7. Maria Ferreira, 2016. "Informal versus precarious work in Colombia: Concept and operationalization," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 16(2), pages 140-158, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Natalia Flores Garrido, 2020. "Precarity From a Feminist Perspective: A Note on Three Elements for the Political Struggle," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 582-590, September.
    2. Gunatilaka, Ramani., 2013. "To work or not to work? : Factors holding women back from market work in Sri Lanka," ILO Working Papers 994838403402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. Neetha N, 2010. "Women's Work in the Post Reform Period: An Exploration of Macro Data," Working Papers id:2885, eSocialSciences.
    4. T. Paul Schultz, 2006. "Does the Liberalization of Trade Advance Gender Equality in Schooling and Health?," Working Papers 935, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    5. Matthias Busse & Christian Spielmann, 2006. "Gender Inequality and Trade," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 362-379, August.
    6. Parrado, Emilio A., 2002. "Socioeconomic Context, Family Regimes, and Women's Early Labor Market Experience: The Case of Colombia and Venezuela," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 799-816, May.
    7. Erturk, Korkut & Darity, William Jr., 2000. "Secular Changes in the Gender Composition of Employment and Growth Dynamics in the North and the South," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1231-1238, July.
    8. Kucera, David & Tejani, Sheba, 2014. "Feminization, Defeminization, and Structural Change in Manufacturing," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 569-582.
    9. Ramya Vijaya, 2007. "Trade, Job Losses and Gender: A Policy Perspective," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 73-85, January.
    10. Dominika Polkowska, 2016. "Feminizacja prekariatu. Polska na tle innych krajów Europy / Feminization of Precarity. Poland Compared to Other Countries," Annales. Ethics in Economic Life, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, vol. 19(2), pages 31-49, May.
    11. John C. Anyanwu, 2014. "Does Intra‐African Trade Reduce Youth Unemployment in Africa?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 286-309, June.
    12. Ramya Vijaya, 2007. "Trade, Job Losses and Gender: A Policy Perspective," Forum for Social Economics, Springer;The Association for Social Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 73-85, October.
    13. Uma Rani, 2007. "Women, Work and Insecurities in India," Working Papers id:1047, eSocialSciences.
    14. Barrientos, Stephanie & Dolan, Catherine & Tallontire, Anne, 2003. "A Gendered Value Chain Approach to Codes of Conduct in African Horticulture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 1511-1526, September.
    15. Daniela Casale, 2004. "What has the Feminisation of the Labour Market ‘Bought’ Women in South Africa? Trends in Labour Force Participation, Employment and Earnings, 1995-2001," Working Papers 04084, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    16. Aysit Tansel, 2001. "Economic Development and Female Labor Force Participation in Turkey: Time-Series Evidence and Cross-Province Estimates," Working Papers 0124, Economic Research Forum, revised 08 2001.
    17. Busse, Matthias & Spielmann, Christian, 2003. "Gender Discrimination and the International Division of Labour," HWWA Discussion Papers 245, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    18. Klasen, Stephan, 2020. "From ‘MeToo’ to Boko Haram: A survey of levels and trends of gender inequality in the world," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    19. William MILBERG & Deborah WINKLER, 2011. "Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: Problems of theory and measurement," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 150(3-4), pages 341-365, December.
    20. Guy Standing, 2009. "Forum 2009," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 40(6), pages 1319-1337, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital accumulation; globalization; labor and workers; precarious work; reserve army of labor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B24 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist; Scraffian
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:52:y:2020:i:3:p:470-486. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.urpe.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.