Posted on 05/31/2015 12:19:08 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
In French, a man (or woman) who is particularly resourceful is called a débrouillard (débrouillarde). In the former French colonies of West Africa, people have used this word to form a phrase, “l’economie de la débrouillardise,” which refers to the vast network of “inventive, self-starting, entrepreneurial merchants who are doing business on their own, without registering or being regulated by the bureaucracy and, for the most part, without paying taxes.”
Systeme D for short.
The concept and the quote are from a nifty and fairly new book I’m reading just now, Stealth of Nations by Robert Neuwirth. He claims that the worldwide Systeme D economy would, if aggregated, amount to more than any other nation’s economy save the United States. The claim may be exaggerated, but he leaves no doubt that in most of the developing world, it is a major factor in the flow of goods and services.
He cleverly begins each chapter with a quote from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations and gives accounts, mostly first-hand, of how the Systeme D economy, or the informal economy or the black market if you will, works in various countries.
The participants in this economy sometimes operate entirely outside the law and sometimes with one foot in and one foot out. They seldom count on the police or the courts for protection or redress. Yet informal systems of protection of life and property spring up and seem to work pretty well.
Take the bustling street market that operates along the Rua Vinte e Cinco de Março (Avenue of March 25) in São Paulo, Brazil.
The daily routine begins at 3:30 a.m., when vendors of pirated CDs and DVDs set up their stands....
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Kind of like Craigslist. That is the USA underground economy :-)
 We cannot exist without you. |
Why the Informal Economy is Rising in America
http://tamarawilhite.hubpages.com/hub/Why-the-Informal-Economy-is-Rising-in-America
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