Speaker
Description
Roma communities in the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region are generally associated with living and working in socio-economically marginalized conditions. The CEE region moreover possesses a substantial informal economy within which Roma largely conduct entrepreneurial activities. This paper outlines a conceptual approach to examine entrepreneurial practices of a Roma communities dealing in municipal waste collection. Rationale is set against a background of theoretical and empirical debate on the relative desirability of formalization of such activities. As such a conceptual foundation for theoretical consideration of Roma entrepreneurial activities is established which can be generalized for application to similar informal entrepreneurial contexts elsewhere. Set against a wider contextual background of environmental sustainability encapsulated in the ‘circular economy’ it is postulated that Roma waste collection practices are beneficial to society as a whole but also that environmentally unsafe disposal of unmarketable products is socially harmful. The prime theoretical implication is that efforts to formalize Roma entrepreneurial activities may be undesirable in relation to the overall socio-economic benefit they provide. In practical terms, the study aims to provide indicators for incorporation of Roma informal entrepreneurial activities into circular economy policy objectives.
