Conservation and Dissolution in the Third World City: The ‘Shanty Town’ as an Element of Conservation

Getting by in the ‘Informal Sector’ of Soweto

“…The functional relation of hawkers for capitalism is "that even when the poorest consumer has a need which capitalism can satisfy, someone is there to ensure the realisation of even a minute quantity of surplus value" (Gerry 1979, p. 70). In light of these comments it is necessary to evaluate the force of those arguments which ascribe the persistence of hawking and other 'informal' economic operations to their functionality for thecapitalist mode ofproduction (see McGee 1979).…”

“…A case can be made that the 'informal sector' of Soweto provides a cheap surplus labour force which assists in holding down wage levels and in addition contributes to a lowering of the reproduction costs of labour through a reduction in the costs of living in the city (cf. McGee 1979, Bromley 1981. Further, it might be argued that the existence of this sector allows capitalist enterprises an opportunity for "putting-out" operations when it is necessary to cut costs (see McGee 1978McGee , 1979.…”

“…The urban economy is conceptualized in terms of a continuum of economic activities with petty commodity production recognized as a form of production existing at the margins of the capitalist mode of production but nevertheless integrated into it in a dependent or subordinate fashion (LeBrun & Gerry 1975, Moser 1978, Bromley & Gerry 1979, Gerry 1979. The persistent feature of stagnating incomes in petty commodity production is linked to its important r61e within the capitalist mode of production of keeping down the reproduction costs of urban wage labour (Williams & Tumusiime-Mutebile 1978, McGee 1979, Forbes 1981.…”

Labour Market Adjustment in the Time of Krismon: Changes in Employment Structure in Indonesia, 1997–98

“…It therefore does not represent a solution to a crisis situation, but rather forms part of the coping strategies that individuals and households use to survive at a time of crisis. Much of this argument was presented in a series of papers written by McGee between 1968and 1979(see McGee & Armstrong, 1968McGee, 1971;1976a&b;1979). Despite the acceleration of economic globalisation and the general increase in global wealth, it is remarkable how relevant these earlier arguments remain as an explanatory framework for labour market behaviour during the contemporary economic crisis in Indonesia.…”

New Wenzhou: Migration, metropolitan spatial development and modernity in a third-tier Chinese model city

“…The settlements where migrants concentrate, also called slums, squatter camps, favelas, shantytowns in some countries, create distinctive and informal urban spaces on the one hand, but also challenge urban governance on the other hand (Holm & Kuhn, 2011;Huchzermeyer, 2003;T. McGee, 1979;Minnery et al, 2013).…”