Informal Street and Sidewalk Work in Pasto (Colombia): Labor and Social configurations of non-traditional work through Multiple Correspondence Analysis

Francisco Javier Villamarín Martínez and María Azucena Feregrino Basurto
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Francisco Javier Villamarín Martínez: Universidad de Nariño
María Azucena Feregrino Basurto: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa

Revista Tendencias, 2026, vol. 27, issue 02, 233-262

Abstract: Introduction: Informal street work constitutes a predominant form of labor market insertion in intermediate Latin American cities such as Pasto, where it is articulated with precarious conditions and disputes over the use of public space. This study addresses informality from the perspective of Non-Traditional Work. Objective: To analyze the labor and social conditions of informal street and sidewalk work in downtown Pasto (Colombia), identifying configurations and patterns of association among labor, territorial, and social dimensions. Methodology: An analytical-descriptive quantitative study was conducted with 114 valid questionnaires administered through interviews with workers along the 17th Street commercial corridor. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was used for the data analysis. Results: Heterogeneous configurations were identified that articulate economic conditions, labor trajectories, territorial appropriation, social protection, risk exposure, and differentiated experiences according to gender. Discussion: The findings challenge the conception of informality as a residual phenomenon and support understanding it as a relational and structured reality, shaped by multiple labor, social and territorial dimensions. Conclusions: Informal street and sidewalk work in Pasto presents differentiated patterns that evidence the complexity of urban labor insertion strategies. Due to the exploratory scope and the non-probabilistic nature of the sample, the results should be interpreted as trends specific to the studied context, and not as causal relationships nor as generalizable to other settings.

Keywords: urban economy; precarious employment; public space; social protection; labor relations; subordination. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J46 J81 O17 R11 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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https://revistas.udenar.edu.co/index.php/rtend/article/view/10411/11318

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:col:000520:023329

DOI: 10.22267/rtend.26272.303

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