More on the 'Other' Economy
'Suitcase Traders' and the Economy's "Informal Sector"
| Most people in this world do not work 40 hours each week in some office building for some large corporation. Labor takes many shapes and forms. In this second installment of a two-part article, Alex Noury introduces us to an unusual Caribbean example of the "informal sector" in action. |
Part II: Suitcase Traders in the Informal Sector
(click here for Part I -- The Informal Sector and its Divisions)by Alex J. Noury
The informal sector includes a wide variety of economic activities. These activities can be both legal and illegal, as noted by the International Labor Organization. However, what sets this sector aside from the formal sector is the degree of organization and government regulation and/or tracking. Informal economic activities do not occur within “formal” work environments (e.g. factories, office buildings, etc). These activities most often occur out of homes, on the streets, or in informal market places. Government agencies do not, and often cannot, track and/or regulate these activities.Included within this sector is the “suitcase trade.” Suitcase traders travel from location to location, purchasing certain goods where prices are low so they can be sold elsewhere for profit. In the Caribbean, the suitcase trade consists largely of women who travel from island to island, filling suitcases with cheaply purchased merchandise. This trade has not only changed the economic status of the women involved, but often effects their social identity.
María Quiñones' 1997 study of Barbadian suitcase traders, Looking Smart: Consumption, Cultural History, and Identity Among Barbadian “Suitcase Traders” (In Research in Economic Anthropology, Barry L. Isaac), highlights issues involving identity among female traders. She explains that many of the young women involved in the suitcase trade use do so in an effort to purchase new, fashionable clothing. These traders want to look like the women on television and in magazines. These modern looks are thought to be more sophisticated and a sign of wealth. Such feelings are often accompanied by attitudes of superiority over those who are employed in local businesses and, more so, agricultural work.
Quiñones explains that the communities where these young women are from are not as accepting of these changes. The new attitudes of the young female traders clash with those of the community, especially among the older generations who still favor traditional lifestyles. “This is a world view that considers sameness and reciprocity as values that are to be embraced by everybody in the community,” notes Quiñones.
This new image of the young traders, based on material wealth, goes against the norms of the community from which they belong. As a result, boundaries are created between them and their community. As the successful traders look down upon the “backwards” local people, the locals look down on the selfish, image-oriented young traders.
These young traders' attempts to increase their status through the informal sector are likely caused by the women's lack of opportunity within the formal sector. Their struggle to become someone else is influenced by Western notions of socio-economic and political success; that wealth and a “wealthy image” will gain you more respect.
Katherine Browne's 1997 study on women's economic mobility in Martinique (In Research in Economic Anthropology, Barry L. Isaac) notes that employment in the informal sector has both positive and negative effects on women. She states, “the informal economy is what one is able to make of it: at times a stepping stone, at times a dead-end.” Employment in the informal sector enables women, in most cases, to make their own hours. Work is often managed around household tasks; allowing women to juggle their numerous responsibilities. In many cases, women involved in the informal sector are heads of households, placing yet more demands on their days. Self-employment in the informal sector, such as suitcase trading, provides women with increased income to spend where they see fit. Brown explains that for those women who are heads of households, this means being able to provide their families with a better standard of living.
Browne further notes that women's reliance on earnings from the informal sector can also be harmful to their economic situation. Such work is often unpredictable. For example, suitcase trading poses a number of risks. First, there is a chance that goods purchased on one island will not sell on another island. In such a case, the price may need to be lowered to cost in order to sell it. Second, passing through customs on each island places one at risk of having significant tariffs and/or fines placed on their goods. Finally, Quiñones explains that when selling goods ordered by friends and/or relatives, the trader takes the chance that the person who ordered the item will not like it or even be able to afford it. These risks place a high level of uncertainty on such work. The consequences of these risks are much higher for female heads of households who are the sole source of income in their family.
The informal sector is a growing portion of the economy. Women's involvement in this sector is often the result of difficulties they have entering and/or growing within the formal sector. The growing phenomenon of suitcase trading suggests many questions about women's social and economic empowerment. Despite the social problems related to women's involvement in this trade, the benefits of this empowerment will most likely lead to its acceptance within their given society.
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Alex J. Noury is a recent graduate of the University of Florida Anthropology Masters program. He has studied the cultural influences on micro-entrepreneurship in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles and is currently employed at the National Institute of Health. Alex is the author of Intertribal Trade on the Great Plains: Expanding control on a changing frontier, published in the Florida Journal of Anthropology (Spring 2002). He looks forward to any questions and/or comments regarding his work. You can e-mail him at: Alex10k@yahoo.com
Part One of this article is at http://www.progress.org/2003/noury03.htm
Copyright 2004 by Alex Noury. All rights reserved. No part of this
material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, which includes but is not limited to facsimile
transmission, photocopying, recording, rekeying, or using any information
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