A culture of informality
Fragmented solidarities among construction workers in Nepal
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18967136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dan V Hirslund (0000-0001-8484-6537, University of Copenhagen, Denmark [email protected], corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Pages | 1-14 |
| Publication date | 2021-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Focaal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0920-1297 • E-ISSN: 1558-5263 |
| Publisher | Berghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3167/fcl.2021.011103 |
| OpenAlex | W3130175426 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 14 |
Despite a history of labor militancy in past decades, Nepal’s large construction sector remains unorganized and lacks social protection, prompted by high levels of informality. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among construction laborers in Kathmandu, this article argues that labor subsumption to capital in the construction industry takes place through a systemization of expertise through which access to work is negotiated. I show how this “culture of informality” shapes labor relations and creates a semblance of transparency and justice in otherwise chaotic and fiercely competitive labor communities. Drawing on concepts from political and urban anthropology to probe how informality indexes forms of power, I argue that authority and status become distributed through processes of distinction and thereby extend and deepen inequalities permeating contemporary industrial relations
Corporate governance · Economics · Ethnography · Geography · Inequality · Labor relations · Management · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropology · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Law · Urban Planning and Governance · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Industrial Relations
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Urban Informality
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The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century
Market Model, Class Structure and Consent
The weakest link? Unions, freedom of association and ethical codes
Introduction - Urban Charisma
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |