The starting point of this paper is that the shift from a producer to a consumer society necessitates that social exclusion is investigated not only in relation to production but also consumption. To do this, case study evidence from interviews with 350 households in rural England is reported....

Attempts to nurture community self-help in deprived neighbourhoods presently tend to pursue the ‘third sector' route of developing community-based groups. Reporting data from recent UK government surveys of community involvement, however, this article uncovers how such a third sector approach...

Reflecting the broader ‘cultural turn' in retail studies, recent surveys of do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers have emphasised human agency rather than economic constraints when explaining their motives for purchasing DIY products. The aim of this paper however, is to evaluate critically this...

To evaluate critically whether under a market system, monetary exchange is always and everywhere based on profit-seeking behaviour, this article examines cash-in-hand work, a form of activity conventionally conceptualised as low paid employment heavily imbued with profit motivations on the part...

The view that alternative retail channels (i.e., informal and/or second-hand modes of goods acquisition) are used out of economic necessity by disadvantaged consumers has been recently opposed by cultural theorists who instead read such channels in agency-orientated terms as places of fun,...

Throughout the western world, the informal economy is now a priority for action in public policy circles. This paper analyzes how the UK government has sought to tackle this issue by attempting to join-up the myriad of actions being taken across government with regard to this realm, and...

Viewing undeclared work as market-like activity conducted for monetary gain, and participation as a rational economic decision, the widespread public policy response has been to seek to deter engagement in such work by ensuring that the expected cost of being caught and punished is greater than...