Tanzania's Informal Economy

<p>The market places and street corners of Dar es Salaam are home to a thriving informal economy of street vendors selling secondhand clothing and other goods. These street vendors often live a precarious existence under pressure from state authorities and international markets. In addition to these external pressures the experiences of such vendors are also shaped by a complex interplay of internal tensions rivalries and conflicting communal ties. Such internal dynamics are a common part of informal economies around the world but have largely gone unrecognised and unexamined by academic scholarship. <p/>Based on ethnographic fieldwork and extensive interviews with vendors living and working in Dar es Salaam Malefakis's book offers a nuanced portrait of those trying to carve out a livelihood in a major African city one in which ties of kinship and ethnicity are often viewed as a barrier rather than an aid to success. In the process Malefakis provides an invaluable new perspective on the way in which co-operation or lack thereof functions in an informal economy as well as insight into the lived experiences of those who depend on such economies.</p>