Incluye referencias bibliográficas e índice.

Introduction / Patricia Fernandez-Kelly -- The informal economy in the shadow of the state / Miguel Angel Centeno and Alejandro Portes -- Risk and regulation in informal and illegal markets / John C. Cross and Sergio Pena -- Neoliberalism, markets, and informal grassroots economies / Jose Itzigsohn -- Vanishing assets: cumulative disadvantages among the urban poor / Mercedes Gonzalez de la Rocha -- Female household headship, privation and power: challenging the "feminization of poverty" thesis / Sylvia Chant -- Protest in contemporary Argentina: a contentious repertoire in the making / Javier Auyero -- The even more difficult transition from clientelism to citizenship: lessons from Brazil / Robert Gay -- Informal politics in the Mexican democratic transition: the case of the people's urban movement / Juan Manuel Ramirez Saiz -- "Do you think democracy is a magical thing?" From basic needs to democratization in informal politics / Jon Shefner.