Of Poverty and Plastic

Scavenging and Scrap Trading Entrepreneurs in India’s Urban Informal Economy

Business & Finance, Marketing & Sales, Consumer Behaviour, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Of Poverty and Plastic by Kaveri Gill, OUP India
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kaveri Gill ISBN: 9780199088096
Publisher: OUP India Publication: October 28, 2009
Imprint: OUP India Language: English
Author: Kaveri Gill
ISBN: 9780199088096
Publisher: OUP India
Publication: October 28, 2009
Imprint: OUP India
Language: English

Of Poverty and Plastic applies an interdisciplinary, 'field economics' approach to poverty analysis, using a mix of survey and ethnographic data to challenge received notions of the nature and extent of narrow income poverty and multiple deprivations experienced by those working in the informal waste recovery and plastic recycling economy of Delhi. A detailed analysis of specialization, capital, and value in various segments of this labour-intensive, 'green' informal market is undertaken, with explicit recognition of its wider social and political institutional context, and how it is shaped by unequal interactions with civil society and the state. In particular, the book focuses on the identity and agency of subordinate scheduled caste groups—living literally and metaphorically on the edge of the city—in negotiating 'a decent life' in today's neoliberal environment. The case studies of the ban on recycled polythene bags and the industrial relocation order illustrate the channels through which these actors collectively seek to resist the perceived anti-urban poor status quo, driven by powerful middle class coalitions through legislation or judicial fiat, with varying degrees of success. In doing so, the book exposes the complex, and at times contrary, policy reality binding poverty and deprivation, formal and informal markets, the state and citizenship in contemporary urban India.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Of Poverty and Plastic applies an interdisciplinary, 'field economics' approach to poverty analysis, using a mix of survey and ethnographic data to challenge received notions of the nature and extent of narrow income poverty and multiple deprivations experienced by those working in the informal waste recovery and plastic recycling economy of Delhi. A detailed analysis of specialization, capital, and value in various segments of this labour-intensive, 'green' informal market is undertaken, with explicit recognition of its wider social and political institutional context, and how it is shaped by unequal interactions with civil society and the state. In particular, the book focuses on the identity and agency of subordinate scheduled caste groups—living literally and metaphorically on the edge of the city—in negotiating 'a decent life' in today's neoliberal environment. The case studies of the ban on recycled polythene bags and the industrial relocation order illustrate the channels through which these actors collectively seek to resist the perceived anti-urban poor status quo, driven by powerful middle class coalitions through legislation or judicial fiat, with varying degrees of success. In doing so, the book exposes the complex, and at times contrary, policy reality binding poverty and deprivation, formal and informal markets, the state and citizenship in contemporary urban India.

More books from OUP India

Cover of the book Nature in the City by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book A Memoir of Pre-Partition Punjab by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book In Search of Gandhi by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Modern Growth Theory by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Global Nepalis by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Gandhi against Caste by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book 1-800-Worlds by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Enduring Colonialism by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book India Analysed by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Labour in Contemporary India by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Collected Papers in Theoretical Economics (Volume V): Economic Policy and Its Theoretical Bases by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Locating the Medical by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Madan Mohan Malaviya and the Indian Freedom Movement by Kaveri Gill
Cover of the book Indian Nuclear Policy by Kaveri Gill
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy