par Rubbers, Benjamin 
Référence Sociologie du travail, 49, 3, page (316-329)
Publication Publié, 2007-07-01
Référence Sociologie du travail, 49, 3, page (316-329)
Publication Publié, 2007-07-01
Article révisé par les pairs
| Résumé : | In the social sciences, the idea of an informal sector has been criticized more for the classification of economic activities in two separate sectors than for the labeling of them as 'formal' or 'informal'. In the Congo (formerly Zaire), the use of such labels is ambiguous. Labeling has to be understood in the context of corruption, i.e. in a transaction involving the personal networks and social identities of the parties in it. An analysis is made of how such transactions which civil servants shape the local market in the case of the import trade in Katanga. Compared to the formal/informal cleavage, this approach enables us both to see the labeling of economic activities as a social and political process and to draw attention to the plurality of such practices in relations with authorities. |
