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Difference between revisions of "Informality assignments"
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!Example | !Example | ||
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| | |Identify a colloquial name of the practice | ||
|Blat | |Blat | ||
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|In which countries/industries/ contexts is it spread? | |In which countries/industries/ contexts is it spread? | ||
|Spread in the countries of former Soviet Union | |Spread in the countries of former Soviet Union, post-socialist countries | ||
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|Identify analogous practices, named differently in different countries | |Identify analogous practices, named differently in different countries in the dataset | ||
|Guanxi in China, wasta in the Middle East, pituto in Chili, kombinowanje in Poland | |Guanxi in China, wasta in the Middle East, pituto in Chili, kombinowanje in Poland | ||
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|How does it relate to other informal practices (discuss similarities and differences if appropriate) | |How does it relate to other informal practices (discuss similarities and differences if appropriate) | ||
|See article on comparison of blat and guanxi (Ledeneva 2008). See also comparion of blat (for personal consumption) and tolkachi (for the benefit of the firm of plan completion in the Soviet planned system) | |See article on comparison of blat and guanxi (Ledeneva 2008). See also comparion of blat (for personal consumption) and tolkachi (for the benefit of the firm of plan completion in the Soviet planned system), blat and bribery, blat and corruption (Ledeneva 1998) | ||
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|Indicate key sources in which it is analysed? | |Indicate key sources in which it is analysed? | ||
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|Provide abstract of the best article/book/source (from Amazon or JSTOR) | |Provide abstract of the best article/book/source (from Amazon or JSTOR) | ||
|Website on blat that sums up the argument and gives example is: | |Website on blat that sums up the argument and gives example is: [[Blat (Russia)]], [http://kommunalka.colgate.edu/cfm/essays.cfm?ClipID=373&TourID=900 blog 1] and [https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/rees-577-fall2016/2016/10/18/the-importance-of-blats-in-soviet-everyday-life/ blog 2] | ||
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|What are the implications of the chosen practice for politics/economy/ society? | |What are the implications of the chosen practice for politics/economy/ society? | ||
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|How can the practice be measured? | |How can the practice be measured? | ||
|Perception of the practice can be. | |Perception of the practice can be measured (see Ledeneva’s From Russia With Blat in Social Research). | ||
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|How visible the practice is in a society? | |How visible the practice is in a society? | ||
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==Assignment 2== | ==Assignment 2== | ||
Explore | Explore the range of possible categorisations or clustering practices similar to how practices are organized in The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality. Try to find your own way of clustering practices (pattern recognition). Analyse similarities and differences of similar practices in your cluster, aim to find comparative angles, note contexts and implications. Make an electronic summary for your cluster. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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!Example | !Example | ||
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| | |Chose a category for clustering | ||
| | |An economy of favours | ||
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|Give definition | |Give definition | ||
| | |Personalised sets of strategies for coping with constraints (shortages of goods and services, red tape etc.) or for seeking competitive advantage (employment, career development etc.) | ||
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|How universal is it? | |How universal is it? | ||
|Associated with poverty | |Associated with poverty, limited access to infrastructure, post-socialism but also found in developed societies in Europe and Asia. Patterns of reaching our in the US and pulling strings I the UK are fairly universal | ||
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|In which countries/industries/ contexts is it spread? | |In which countries/industries/ contexts is it spread? | ||
|Spread in the countries of Latin America, Asia etc. | |Spread in the countries of Latin America, Asia etc. (see Chapter 1 in The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality) | ||
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|Identify analogous practices, named differently in different countries | |Identify analogous practices, named differently in different countries | ||
| | |I included 21 names into the Chapter 1 cluster and places some similar practices into other clusters where they also belong and have a key word ‘economy of favours’ | ||
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|How does it function? | |How does it function? | ||
| | |Identify the principles of an economy of favours, if possible, say: use of friends, mediation, brokerage | ||
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|How does it relate to other informal practices (discuss similarities and differences if appropriate) | |How does it relate to other informal practices (discuss similarities and differences if appropriate) | ||
|Similarity is limited access to resources (water, sanitation), poverty levels, economic and political frameworks | |Similarity is limited access to resources (water, sanitation), poverty levels, economic and political frameworks; differences could be of socio-historical nature; explore the role of ethnicity, regional factors, religion, age, gender. | ||
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|Indicate key sources in which it is analysed? | |Indicate key sources in which it is analysed? | ||
| | |See Preface by Alena Ledeneva, Introduction by David Henig/ Nicolette Makovicky and Conclusion by Florence Weber in Part I of The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality. | ||
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|Provide abstract of the best article/book/source (from Amazon or JSTOR) | |Provide abstract of the best article/book/source (from Amazon or JSTOR) that is not in your reading list but relevant to the categorization you are exploring | ||
|... The state is an informalized entity, or informality from above. I argue that informality has to be understood not as a grassroots phenomenon, but rather as a site of extra-legal discipline, continuous with formal systems of regulation (Roy, 2003). ... | |... The state is an informalized entity, or informality from above. I argue that informality has to be understood not as a grassroots phenomenon, but rather as a site of extra-legal discipline, continuous with formal systems of regulation (Roy, 2003). ... | ||
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|What are the implications of the chosen understanding of informality for politics/economy/ society? | |What are the implications of the chosen understanding of informality in your cluster for politics/economy/society? | ||
| | |Connivance of the state, impossibility for the political regime to survive without turning a blind eye to economies of favours | ||
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|Which other concepts is it linked with? | |Which other concepts is it linked with? | ||
| | |Connections, social ties, informal networks | ||
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|Which method was or can be used for researching | |Which method was or can be used for researching practices in your cluster? | ||
|Ethnography, | |Ethnography, sociological research, opinion polls, mass media and social media content analysis | ||
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| | |How can you visualize the pattern you’ve identified? | ||
| | |A triangle, mediation of needs and wants | ||
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|How can the informality be measured? | |How can the informality be measured? | ||
|Size of informal | |Size of informal networks and cost of maintaining them | ||
|} | |} | ||