ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the development and role of “informal” work in the “postsocialist” economies of East-Central Europe. It argues that though there may have been some expansion of the role of such work, as households and individuals have experienced declining living standards and increasing social exclusion since the collapse of state socialism, it is not possible simply to “read off” these activities from such wider contexts. Drawing upon research in Slovakia, along with a series of other studies, this chapter explores the ways in which informal work-as a set of economic practices-is constituted through the articulation of “formal” and “informal” economies and “cultural” and “economic” practices. In this sense, such practices cannot easily be seen as the survival strategies of the poor but as complex cultural and socioeconomic phenomena. The chapter highlights the importance of a historical and nuanced understanding of the constitution of such conventionally conceived survival strategies in East-Central Europe. It argues that consideration of the almost mundane practices of informal activity, everyday household production, and reciprocity enables a deeper understanding of economic forms in post-socialist societies.