From "Mordida" to "Vetterliwirtschaft": Debating Societies’ Hidden Meanings, Open Secrets and the Impact of Informal Practices

Informal practices are pervasive in all societies, and we are all in some form or other impacted by them, often without noticing at all but bearing the consequences nonetheless. Thus they are hardly ever explicitly articulated or reflected in our governments’ policy making. The Basel Institute on Governance cordially invites you to a debate how informal practices shape the fabric of societies around the world and the impact they have on people’s lifes and more broadly on development outcomes.

The event will start with a panel discussion between experts and practitioners from Mexico, Russia, Tanzania and Switzerland who will share experiences of how such invisible practices shape our daily lives. This is to celebrate the launch of The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality, edited by Prof Alena Ledeneva of University College London and to which members of the Basel Institute research team and close collaborators have contributed.  

After a short musical intermezzo, the second part of the evening will be devoted to discussing policy implications of informality, particularly when it comes to persistent high levels of corruption. Research evidence from seven countries across East Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus will help shed light into promising entry points for the development of innovative and more effective anti-corruption strategies. If this feels far away from your own preoccupations, you may ask whether any of this is applicable to Switzerland too?                                                                                                                              


Kindly RSVP by Friday 20 April by filling out this registration form

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