A Zone of Ambiguity: The Political Economy of Cigarette Bootlegging

Moving up the waste hierarchy: Car boot sales, reuse exchange and the challenges of consumer culture to waste prevention

“…For many participants this kind of gossip and speculation is all part of the activity; spotting 'the dodgy stuff' is part of the day out (Gregson and Crewe, 1997a), whilst for others buying it is regarded as 'fair game', even if disclosing what it is -at least for a survey -was not. In this respect, the research confirms the findings of sociological work on how consumers relate to the illegal and illicit economy (Hobbs, 1998;Hornsby and Hobbs, 2007;Rutter and Bryce, 2008), whilst it is important to note the argument that eBay has transplanted the pub and the car boot sale as the primary means to selling counterfeit goods (Treadwell, 2012).…”

Mapping international flows of electronic waste

“…Similarly, whole used computers are often exported under the general category of scrap metal to e-waste processing sites in Asia and Africa (Basel Action Network 2002a, 2002bGreenpeace International 2005CBC News 2008). Second, if the allegations of ENGOs are correct, international trade in e-waste is shadowed by a substantial traffic in e-waste that occurs in what Hornsby and Hobbs (2007) in another context call 'zones of ambiguity'-trading spaces opened up by regulatory gaps and loopholes that enable licit and illicit trade flows to overlap and co-mingle as they move through different jurisdictions. In the case of e-waste, these legal grey zones often constitute spaces where formal data gathering is either limited or nonexistent.…”

The Financial Management of the Illicit Tobacco Trade in the United Kingdom

“…In these instances, the individual members ('runners') visit neighbouring countries (e.g. France) to buy a permitted quantity of cigarettes that they declare for personal consumption 3 and, once in the UK, the investor collects the merchandise (see Hornsby and Hobbs, 2007;L'Hoiry, 2013). Groups trading in illicit tobacco are sometimes clustered around a small core of individuals who retain an ongoing presence, around whom more transitional individuals become involved as and when opportunities arise.…”

“…In the UK, the cost of tobacco smuggling to the exchequer was estimated by HMRC to run to £2.6bn... while losses for retailers, wholesalers and distributors are thought to run to £230m annually and £191m for the manufacturers". However, thus far, apart from pricing and networking at different levels of the market (see Hornsby and Hobbs, 2007), the financial aspects of the trade have been neglected by researchers. Drawing on a diverse set of original empirical data, including interviews with active criminal entrepreneurs involved in the trade, this article provides an account of the financial management of the illicit tobacco business in the UK.…”

“…The second section offers a general yet concise overview of the illicit tobacco trade, including a discussion of the characteristics and key actors of the market in the UK. This overview is based on our own research and that of others (see von Lampe, 2006;Hornsby and Hobbs, 2007;L'Hoiry, 2013). The third focuses on the financial aspects of the market in terms of sources of financing, settlement of payments, costs of doing business, profits and investment.…”