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Enforced informalisation: The case of liquor retailers in South Africa

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  • Andrew JE Charman
  • Leif M Petersen
  • Laurence Piper

Abstract

After a decade of unsuccessful efforts to migrate informal businesses to South Africa's formal economy there remains little understanding of the dynamics in this sector, especially as regards micro-enterprises. International literature discusses ‘exit’ and ‘exclusion’, holding that poor law enforcement is the reason for the persistence and growth of the informal economy. Through examining the informal liquor retail (shebeen) sector, we demonstrate that enforcement actually produces informality in this sector. Illustrated with examples from one of our sites in Delft South, Cape Town, the article describes key aspects of shebeen business practice, including the responses to greater law enforcement. Notably, instead of closing shop or facing the hurdles of compliance, the great majority of shebeens continue to evade the law by downscaling their activities. This finding has implications not just for liquor policy in South Africa, but for understanding both theories of formalisation and theories of the informal economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew JE Charman & Leif M Petersen & Laurence Piper, 2013. "Enforced informalisation: The case of liquor retailers in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4-5), pages 580-595, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:deveza:v:30:y:2013:i:4-5:p:580-595
    DOI: 10.1080/0376835X.2013.817306
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    Cited by:

    1. Marlow, Marguerite & Christie, Hope & Skeen, Sarah & Rabie, Stephan & Louw, Jacobus G. & Swartz, Leslie & Mofokeng, Shoeshoe & Makhetha, Moroesi & Tomlinson, Mark, 2021. "Alcohol use during pregnancy in rural Lesotho: “There is nothing else except alcohol”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    2. Ethné M. Swartz & Frances M. Amatucci & Jonathan T. Marks, 2019. "Contextual Embeddedness As A Framework: The Case Of Entrepreneurship In South Africa," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(03), pages 1-24, September.
    3. Andrew Charman & Thiresh Govender, 2020. "The Creative Night‐Time Leisure Economy of Informal Drinking Venues," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 793-808, September.

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