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Stealth of nations : the global rise of the informal economy / Robert Neuwirth.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Pantheon Books, c2011.Description: 290 p. ; 22 cmISBN:
  • 037542489X (hbk.)
  • 9780375424892 (hbk.)
Subject(s):
Contents:
The global rummage sale -- Grade A, plan B, middle C, system C, vitamin E -- DIY city -- The global back channel -- The culture of the copy -- Can anybody tell me how to get to the bridge? -- The upside of down the trade -- Once upon a time in the west -- Against efficiency -- The honest con men -- Why not formalize the informal? -- Freedom to trade.
Summary: When we think of the informal economy, we tend to think of crime: prostitution, gun running, drug trafficking. Stealth of Nations opens up this underground realm, showing how the worldwide informal economy deals mostly in legal products and is, in fact, a ten-trillion-dollar industry, making it the second-largest economy in the world, after that of the United States. Having penetrated this closed world, Robert Neuwirth makes clear that this informal method of transaction dates back as far as humans have existed and traded, that it provides essential services and crucial employment that fill the gaps in formal systems, and that this unregulated market works smoothly and effectively, with its own codes and unwritten rules. Combining a vivid travelogue with a firm grasp on global economic strategy--along with a healthy dose of irreverence and skepticism toward conventional perceptions--Neuwirth gives us an eye-opening account of a world that is operating all around us, hidden in plain sight.--From publisher description.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 330 N498 Available 33111006828921
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When we think of the informal economy, we tend to think of crime: prostitution, gun running, drug trafficking. Stealth of Nations opens up this underground realm, showing how the worldwide informal economy deals mostly in legal products and is, in fact, a ten-trillion-dollar industry, making it the second-largest economy in the world, after that of the United States. Having penetrated this closed world and persuaded its inhabitants to open up to him, Robert Neuwirth makes clear that this informal method of transaction dates back as far as humans have existed and traded, that it provides essential services and crucial employment that fill the gaps in formal systems, and that this unregulated market works smoothly and effectively, with its own codes and unwritten rules.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-274) and index.

The global rummage sale -- Grade A, plan B, middle C, system C, vitamin E -- DIY city -- The global back channel -- The culture of the copy -- Can anybody tell me how to get to the bridge? -- The upside of down the trade -- Once upon a time in the west -- Against efficiency -- The honest con men -- Why not formalize the informal? -- Freedom to trade.

When we think of the informal economy, we tend to think of crime: prostitution, gun running, drug trafficking. Stealth of Nations opens up this underground realm, showing how the worldwide informal economy deals mostly in legal products and is, in fact, a ten-trillion-dollar industry, making it the second-largest economy in the world, after that of the United States. Having penetrated this closed world, Robert Neuwirth makes clear that this informal method of transaction dates back as far as humans have existed and traded, that it provides essential services and crucial employment that fill the gaps in formal systems, and that this unregulated market works smoothly and effectively, with its own codes and unwritten rules. Combining a vivid travelogue with a firm grasp on global economic strategy--along with a healthy dose of irreverence and skepticism toward conventional perceptions--Neuwirth gives us an eye-opening account of a world that is operating all around us, hidden in plain sight.--From publisher description.

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