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The concept of informalization with respect to economy or working life aims to capture processes in which different kinds of work are increasingly organized in informal ways. The concept has a twofold history. First, it derives from historical third-world studies that show how large parts of the population in rural and peripheral urban areas of what is today called the Global South engage in informal activities in order to earn a livelihood – a situation often called “informalization from below.” A second root of the concept can be found in gender studies research that has shown the extent to which women’s work – both unpaid and paid – is organised in informal ways. However, the concept of informalization has been used increasingly to demonstrate how informal arrangements of work are gradually becoming more prevalent in the Global North. This latter process has been called “informalization from above,” in order to emphasize how big businesses develop strategies of downsizing, outsourcing and subcontracting – often in tandem with the decline of welfare states. Processes of informalization can be seen in many parts of the economy and working life, not least in various kinds of private-sector service work, including logistics labor.

Keyword definition provided by: Alexander Harder

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