On Monday, December 7, at 16:00, in Room Στ-1 (ΚΕΝΙ: Center for Modern History Research) on the 6th floor of the New Building of Panteion University (136, Syggrou Avenue), the Greek Economic History Association invites you to the lecture given in Greek by ass. prof. Kleoniki Alexopoulou (Department of Economics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) entitled  «The Boom of Urban “Informal” Labor in Postcolonial Africa: Insights from Kinshasa, DRC».

Discussant: assoc.prof. Lambros Flitouris (University of Ioaninna)

This paper offers a macro-level overview of labour transformations in Southern and Central Africa, with an emphasis on the transition from colonial to post-colonial regimes. It begins by examining forms of ‘free’, wage and forced labour during the late colonial period, highlighting similarities and differences between regions under British, Portuguese and Belgian rule, as well as in independent South Africa. Particular emphasis is placed on agricultural labour systems in the Belgian Congo and Portuguese Africa, as well as on proletarianisation in the mining sector in South Africa and British Northern Rhodesia.

The analysis then shifts to the post-colonial period, focusing on the growing precariousness of employment linked to rapid urbanisation, potential deindustrialisation and on the fiscal adjustment policies of the 1980s and 1990s. The explosion of informal employment is examined both as a survival strategy and as a sphere for social action, through which workers negotiate poverty and inequalities. Finally, it is argued that historical turning points, such as political independence, do not negate the continuities of labour regimes, as the colonial legacy continues to shape contemporary labour markets and social hierarchies.

*The findings are based on fieldwork and archival research, which was funded by Princeton University during the 2024–2025 academic year, combining fieldwork and interviews with the study of historical sources.

You can follow online via the following Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84098118415?pwd=3Fi4PY3q7BTdvOsTDTaexPDSVGVIaW.1