Soutenance de thèse de AYALA Dahiana
Titre de thèse
Les mondes du travail informel au Paraguay : Analyse structurelle et construction d'une typologie à partir d'une approche mixte
The worlds of informal work in Paraguay: Structural analysis and construction of a typology based on a mixed approach
Résumé de la thèse
Au Paraguay, près de 70 % de la population active occupe un emploi informel, ce qui témoigne de l'importance et du rôle central de l'informalité dans l'emploi total. Malgré cela, l'informalité a longtemps été, et reste souvent, abordée sous un angle négatif et marginalisé, considérée comme un espace qui favorise et perpétue les inégalités sociales et économiques. Cette vision, directement promue par les organismes internationaux tels que le Fonds monétaire et la Banque Mondiale, insiste sur la transition vers des emplois formels. Dans cette recherche, nous proposons une lecture alternative de l'informalité du travail et montrons qu'il s'agit d'une organisation sociale, comme le mentionnent Lautier (2004) et Busso (2009), qui reflète ses propres dynamiques ancrées dans les parcours professionnels, les réseaux familiaux et des modes de vie spécifiques.
Des auteurs tels que De Soto et al. (1994), Lautier (2004) et Iguaran (2009) ont consacré une grande partie de leurs recherches à démontrer que l'emploi informel n'est pas un phénomène homogène ou temporaire, mais qu'il est profondément ancré dans les économies où le marché formel n'a pas la capacité totale d'absorber la main-d'œuvre existante. Pour eux, la persistance du travail informel réside dans la nécessité pour les populations de rechercher des alternatives leur permettant de générer des revenus, de développer leurs activités indépendantes et autres comme moyen de subsistance. Pour Azaïs (2014) et D'Amours et al. (2017), il existe entre les emplois formels et informels une certaine fonctionnalité opérationnelle qui leur permet de coexister, de perdurer et de se consolider.
Partant de ces perspectives théoriques, notre recherche adopte une méthodologie mixte : d'une part, nous analysons des données quantitatives issues de l'enquête auprès de ménages du Paraguay, d'autre part, nous avons mené 35 entretiens avec des travailleurs paraguayens.
This thesis has enabled us to develop and construct a typology of informal employment in Paraguay that links sociodemographic factors and workers' individual narratives. It thus highlights the complexity of informal employment in Paraguay: a dynamic, segmented, and heterogeneous space. This typology shows that entry into informal employment is driven by a variety of motivations, such as family tradition, business opportunities, multiple jobs, unemployment, or the need to survive, which shape different trajectories and varying degrees of stability within the informal sector. Informal work thus appears not only as a refuge from exclusion from the formal labor market, but also as a pluralistic social organization where experiences of autonomy, aspirations, and economic continuity coexist.
Thesis resume
In Paraguay, nearly 70% of the working population is employed in the informal sector, reflecting the importance and central role of informality in total employment. Despite this, informality has long been, and often remains, viewed in a negative and marginalized light, considered as a space that promotes and perpetuates social and economic inequalities. This view, directly promoted by international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, emphasizes the transition to formal employment.
In this research, we propose an alternative interpretation of informal work and show that it is a social organization, as mentioned by Lautier (2004) and Busso (2009), which reflects its own dynamics rooted in career paths, family networks, and specific lifestyles.
Authors such as De Soto et al. (1994), Lautier (2004), and Iguaran (2009) have devoted much of their research to demonstrating that informal employment is not a homogeneous or temporary phenomenon, but is deeply rooted in economies where the formal market does not have the full capacity to absorb the existing labor force. For them, the persistence of informal work stems from the need for people to seek alternatives that allow them to generate income and develop their independent and other activities as a means of subsistence. For Azaïs (2014) and D'Amours et al. (2017), there is a certain operational functionality between formal and informal jobs that allows them to coexist, persist, and consolidate.
Based on these theoretical perspectives, our research adopts a mixed methodology: on the one hand, we analyze quantitative data from the Paraguayan Household Survey, and on the other hand, we conducted 35 interviews with Paraguayan workers.
This thesis work has made it possible to develop a typology of informal employment in Paraguay that links sociodemographic dimensions and workers' individual narratives. It thus highlights the complexity of Paraguay's informal sector: a dynamic, heterogeneous, and stratified labor market. This typology shows that entry into informal employment is driven by a variety of motivations, such as family tradition, business opportunities, multiple jobs, unemployment, or the need to survive, which shape different trajectories and varying degrees of stability within the informal sector. Informal work thus appears not only as a refuge from exclusion from the formal market, but also as a plural social space where forms of organization and experiences of autonomy and economic continuity coexist.