Local Princes Encountering Transnational Peddlers

The State and Informal Chinese Entrepreneurs in Morocco's Tourism Sector

Bibliographic Data

ID4869034
AuthorsJason Jie Gao (0009-0002-5979-1356, University of Arizona, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume49
Issue2
Publication date2025-09-14
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of Anthropological Practice (BOOK_SERIES)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2153-957X • E-ISSN: 2153-9588
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/napa.70027
OpenAlexW7081927689
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited16

In modern market societies, the state has strong incentives to regulate informal economic activities, particularly when they become highly visible or challenge state-sanctioned markets. However, informality persists not merely as a regulatory failure but as a negotiated economic space where both the state and entrepreneurs pursue strategic interests. This article examines Chinese informal entrepreneurship in Morocco's tourism sector, revealing how migrant entrepreneurs, Moroccan tourism professionals, and state authorities interact to sustain a transnational tourism market despite regulatory constraints. Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation and interviews with Chinese entrepreneurs and Moroccan stakeholders, this study critically engages Clifford Geertz's "prince-peddler" framework, extending it to a digital and transnational economy. It argues that Moroccan authorities practice selective enforcement, balancing economic pragmatism with regulatory ambiguity, while Chinese entrepreneurs leverage digital infrastructures to navigate informality strategically. This research contributes to the anthropology of entrepreneurship by illustrating how informal entrepreneurship is not merely a survival strategy but a deliberate business model shaped by digital platforms, transnational financial networks, and negotiated governance. Although this niche market of Chinese tourists in Morocco remains resilient, emerging regulatory pressures suggest that a shift toward formalization is already underway

Entrepreneurship · Ethnography · Incentive · Informal sector · Leverage (statistics · State (computer science · Tourism · Electrical and Electromagnetic Research · Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping · Geological Modeling and Analysis

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