Market exchange in the Pakistani informal economy: patronage, exploitation, or both?

Dr. Asha Amirali (Research Associate, Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath)

2pm to 3.30pm, Friday 21st April 2023

Location: Eleanor Rathbone Building, Room 201

Through examination of business in a Pakistani agricultural market, this paper will argue that patronage does not mask exploitation as much as it sweetens it through the construction of solidarities that are –  barring sudden and drastic changes to the distribution of rights and resources – displaced only by conflict on their own terms. Patronage is therefore not only a ‘Faustian bargain’ or a rational outcome of inequalities of status and wealth; rather, patron-client relationships are more deeply rooted and meaningful for the persons involved than most of us might want to admit. The implications of this are significantly more important than acknowledged by development scholars and practitioners.

Part of the Seminar Series “Transformations in Land, Labour, and Meaning in South Asia” organised by the Power, Space, and Cultural Change Cluster, Department of Geography and Planning.