Off The Books by Sudhir Venkatesh
The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor
Drawing on immersive ethnography in low-income Chicago neighborhoods, the book maps the informal and often illegal income-generating strategies residents use to survive and support their communities—from under-the-table work and street vending to hustles and drug-related enterprises—showing how social networks, reciprocity and local institutions sustain a parallel economy. It challenges conventional views of poverty and labor by revealing the creativity, risk, and moral logic behind everyday survival tactics and argues that policy and scholarship must engage with these practices rather than simply criminalize or ignore them.
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- Published
- 2006
- Nationality
- American
- Length
- Medium
- Pages
- 240-300
- Original Language
- English
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- Alternate Titles
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