Tanzania's Informal Economy

The Micro-politics of Street Vending

Alexis Malefakis (University of Zurich, Switzerland)

$64.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Zed Books Ltd
17 June 2021

Development studies; Urban communities; Sociology: work & labour; Social & cultural anthropology; Urban economics

Series: Politics and Society in Urban Africa

The market places and street corners of Dar es Salaam are home to a thriving informal economy of street vendors selling secondhand clothing and other goods. These street vendors often live a precarious existence, under pressure from state authorities and international markets. In addition to these external pressures, the experiences of such vendors are also shaped by a complex interplay of internal tensions, rivalries and conflicting communal ties. Such internal dynamics are a common part of informal economies around the world, but have largely gone unrecognised and unexamined by academic scholarship.

Based on ethnographic fieldwork and extensive interviews with vendors living and working in Dar es Salaam, Malefakis’s book offers a nuanced portrait of those trying to carve out a livelihood in a major African city, one in which ties of kinship and ethnicity are often viewed as a barrier, rather than an aid, to success. In the process, Malefakis provides an invaluable new perspective on the way in which co-operation, or lack thereof, functions in an informal economy, as well as insight into the lived experiences of those who depend on such economies.

By: Alexis Malefakis (University of Zurich Switzerland)
Imprint: Zed Books Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 135mm,
Weight: 222g
ISBN: 9781786994516
ISBN 10: 1786994518
Series: Politics and Society in Urban Africa
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 17 June 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Alexis Malefakis is Africa curator of the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, where he also works as an academic researcher. He previously lectured at the University of Konstanz, Germany. His previous works include Making a Living from Old Shoes: Tanzanian Street Vendors as Urban Experts (2016) and Auto Didaktika: Wire Models from Burundi (2017), both of which are based on exhibitions he curated at the museum.