Reflections on the concept of informality, using the example of the Argentinian automotive industry

This article focusses on different forms of informal work in the Argentinean automotive industry. We observe that informality often takes place in grey zones between regular and irregular labour. Thus, the phenomenon can only be accurately viewed in a multi-dimensional perspective, which includes both households and traditional production. Qualitative empirical research allows us to develop a dynamic concept of informality that considers personal work biographies situated between industrial employment and a wide variety of partially or unregistered activities, as well as taking into account additional incomes and consumption patterns in the workers' households.