Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, Peru
This article constitutes an empirical contribution regarding the correlation between economic informality and the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Based on interviews with merchants in the informal sector of the city of Huancayo, the pandemic-related impacts are analyzed in relation to income and liveliho...
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| Language: | Spanish |
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Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Íconos |
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| Online Access: | https://iconos.flacsoandes.edu.ec/index.php/iconos/article/view/5544 |
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| author | Patrick Clark Aparicio Chanca-Flores Susan Vincent |
| author_facet | Patrick Clark Aparicio Chanca-Flores Susan Vincent |
| author_sort | Patrick Clark |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article constitutes an empirical contribution regarding the correlation between economic informality and the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Based on interviews with merchants in the informal sector of the city of Huancayo, the pandemic-related impacts are analyzed in relation to income and livelihoods. It is argued that informal employment played an important role in the tragic indicators of public health in the country. The intrinsic flexibility of this type of activities, specifically for walking merchants, and the lack of access to systems and programs of social security were the main reasons that people worked in this sector to replace the income they lost due to confinement. Thus, the notion “replacement of income” in the economy appeared during the pandemic. The heterogeneity among those who carry out informal work, specifically in terms of their access to different resources, enabled such work and enabled some people to control their exposure to the virus. It is concluded that the focus on economic formalization of the last decades of financial liberalization are not considered advantages that informal activities offer in relation to formalization. In fact, informality continues to offer the best opportunity for immediate income and highly flexible options, in particular for adapting to crisis situations like the pandemic. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4f14bd0b4dcd4ab59aecfe16365e96e1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1390-1249 2224-6983 |
| language | Spanish |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Íconos |
| spelling | doaj-art-4f14bd0b4dcd4ab59aecfe16365e96e12025-02-02T15:29:01ZspaFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede EcuadorÍconos1390-12492224-69832023-05-01277616718510.17141/iconos.76.2023.5544Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, PeruPatrick Clark0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6556-913XAparicio Chanca-Flores1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5664-5444Susan Vincent2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9166-1477York UniversityUniversidad Nacional del Centro del PerúUniversidad de San Francisco Javier This article constitutes an empirical contribution regarding the correlation between economic informality and the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Based on interviews with merchants in the informal sector of the city of Huancayo, the pandemic-related impacts are analyzed in relation to income and livelihoods. It is argued that informal employment played an important role in the tragic indicators of public health in the country. The intrinsic flexibility of this type of activities, specifically for walking merchants, and the lack of access to systems and programs of social security were the main reasons that people worked in this sector to replace the income they lost due to confinement. Thus, the notion “replacement of income” in the economy appeared during the pandemic. The heterogeneity among those who carry out informal work, specifically in terms of their access to different resources, enabled such work and enabled some people to control their exposure to the virus. It is concluded that the focus on economic formalization of the last decades of financial liberalization are not considered advantages that informal activities offer in relation to formalization. In fact, informality continues to offer the best opportunity for immediate income and highly flexible options, in particular for adapting to crisis situations like the pandemic.https://iconos.flacsoandes.edu.ec/index.php/iconos/article/view/5544informal commercecovid-19informal economyperuprecaritysocial reproduction |
| spellingShingle | Patrick Clark Aparicio Chanca-Flores Susan Vincent Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, Peru Íconos informal commerce covid-19 informal economy peru precarity social reproduction |
| title | Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, Peru |
| title_full | Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, Peru |
| title_fullStr | Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, Peru |
| title_full_unstemmed | Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, Peru |
| title_short | Replacement income and informal commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic in Huancayo, Peru |
| title_sort | replacement income and informal commerce during the covid 19 pandemic in huancayo peru |
| topic | informal commerce covid-19 informal economy peru precarity social reproduction |
| url | https://iconos.flacsoandes.edu.ec/index.php/iconos/article/view/5544 |
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