Informalidad en la estructura de clases de Argentina: familias, trayectorias laborales e identidad de clase en el proletariado formal e informal (2007)

Abstract

The prevailing class analysis of Latin American soci eties defines informality as a class cleavage that divides the working class. In this view, labor fra gmentation has created structural divisions among workers, which are translated in to different life experiences, collective action dynamics and material interests of formal and informal workers (Portes, 1985; Portes y Hoffman, 2003). This article is part of a broader research aimed at testing the "class diffe rences" hypothesis through a study of the cultural, organizing and structural links between the formal and the informal working class (Elbert, 2013). Do formal and informal workers self-identify as part of the same social class? What is the effect of ties across the informality border in the class identity of individuals in the worki ng class? I use survey data from the “Encuesta Nacional de Estratificación Social” (CEDOP-UBA). In the study I provide evidence of strong structural connections between the formal and the informal proletariat, which include past work experiences and family ties across the formal-informal boundary. This confirms that workers’ class self- identification is a consequence not only of their stru ctural position but also of their lived experience.