Cross‐Border Consumption of Informal and Underground Goods: A Case Study of Alternative Consumerism in South Texas

Abstract

Objective To explore the determinants of informal consumption of cross‐border goods from the South Texas‐Mexico border. Twelve select informal and underground goods are examined. Methods Derived from extensive interviews, a unique (and purposive) data set of 357 consumers from the South Texas borderlands was collected in the summer of 2010. Results Nearly two‐thirds (64.6 percent) of borderlands consumers have engaged in, at one time or another, the purchase and consumption of cross‐border informal goods. The rate is 44.1 percent for the consumption of cross‐border underground goods. An important determinant in the cross‐border consumption of informal goods is one's self‐reported morals for buying “off the books.” This relationship is inversely bound. Immigration status, Spanish‐language ability, education, civil status, and residence location all inform participation in the consumption of informal cross‐border goods. Conclusion The South Texas‐Mexico border clearly acts as a lever for the cross‐border consumption of informal and underground goods.

New Age Informality: Hispanics and the Sharing Economy

“…From dichotomy (Geertz 1978) to heterogeneity (Tokman 1989) to continuum (Pisani et al 2008;Williams and Youssef 2014), evolving scholarship continues to refine our understanding of informality. Today, more research emphasis is placed on the entrepreneurial nature of informal production (or suppliers) of goods and services (Thai and Turkina 2012), relatively absent are the consumers of informal goods and services (Pisani 2013). Losby et al (2002) conducted a comprehensive literature review of informality within the United States and uncovered the following patterns: (1) there is a natural link between informality and microenterprise entrepreneurship-that is, very small businesses lend themselves to low levels of visibility and high levels of ignorance of governmental regulations and authority; (2) the general level of informal activity is large (roughly 10%) and constant within a sea of similar sized business (75% of US business establishments employ ten or fewer employees); (3) informal businesses may thrive in environments that (a) meet the needs of high-income consumers who seek customized goods and services (this is the case for our present study); (b) serve low-income, price-sensitive households; (c) serve commuters and tourists in urban centers through low-cost operations.…”

Informality and Latino‐Owned Businesses: A National Portrait of Unregistered Latino‐Owned Businesses

“…Beyond labor, Staudt identified other aspects of border informality including informal self‐help housing, consumption informality via stretching household purchases in informal markets, and cash as a facilitator of informal transactions. Pisani and colleagues extend the study of informality in South Texas, including sectoral studies of maids (Pisani and Yoskowitz, ), gardeners (Pisani and Yoskowitz, ), undocumented immigrant entrepreneurs (Pisani, ), and cross‐border informal entrepreneurs (Pisani, ; Pisani and Richardson, ). More broadly, Pisani and colleagues have studied labor markets (Pisani, ), informal consumption (Pisani, ), and informal economic systems (Pisani et al., ; Richardson and Pisani, ).…”

Informal economic activity and political consumption

“…It also fails to recognise that consumption practices falling under the household, underground, informal and hidden economy have extensively been studied within consumer behaviour-related literature; such practices, however, are occasionally positioned as performed within the "informal economy" (exceptions are for e.g. Culiberg and Bajde, 2014;Laitala and Klepp, 2018;Pisani, 2013aPisani, , 2013bC. C. Williams and Paddock, 2003).…”