Paper short abstract:

This paper will present findings from a series of studies examining the transition experiences of formerly nomadic Gypsy/Traveller families now resident in conventional housing. The focus of the paper will be on the relation between settlement and changing working patterns and will explore the role of collective adaptive strategies and cultural resources in mediating the diverse economic outcomes and income strategies for members of these communities.

Paper long abstract:

Gypsies and Travellers are one of the most excluded black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in the UK across numerous domains. Despite the recent preoccupation among anthropologists and sociologists on migrant economies following the increased ethnic diversity of many urban areas in the UK and Western Europe and the increased policy focus on levels of unemployment and economic inactivity among BME groups in recent years, little attention has been paid to the economic position of Gypsies and Travellers. Partly this reflects the dominance of positivistic and statistical approaches to capturing employment patterns and a lack of systematic data on the employment status of these communities and the difficulties of applying conventional categories of employed/unemployed on a group whose economic practices has been characterised by family based self-employment, informality, flexibility and a diversity of income streams. This paper will present findings from a series of related studies that explore the accommodation histories and adaptive strategies utilised by housed Gypsies and Travellers across four locations in southern England. One strand of these studies was concerned with employment opportunities and practices following the transition into housing. We draw on these findings to discuss the role of cultural adaptations in mediating the wider socioeconomic context and how recourse to collective responses helps to shape economic and labour market outcomes for members of this group.