Employment Insecurity as a Driver of Informal Cross-Border Trade: A Case Study of the China–Kazakhstan Border

Jintao Yang

doi:10.52536/3006-807X.2025-4.005

Authors

Jintao Yang University of Latvia, Latvia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2210-6629

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52536/3006-807X.2025-4.005

Keywords:

employment insecurity, informal cross-border trade, informal trade, informal economy, trade

Abstract

This research paper investigates the relationship between employment insecurity and informal cross-border trade (ICBT) at the China–Kazakhstan border. By conducting a survey of individuals involved in ICBT, this study aims to understand the factors that drive individuals to engage in this type of economic activity. The findings suggest that employment insecurity, characterized by factors such as inadequate wages, lack of social security, and precarious employment conditions, is a significant driver of ICBT. Individuals facing employment insecurity often turn to ICBT as a means of supplementing their income and ensuring their livelihoods. This research contributes to the understanding of the complex dynamics of informal trade and its relationship to employment insecurity in the context of the China–Kazakhstan border.

Author Biography

Jintao Yang, University of Latvia, Latvia

Jintao Yang is a PhD student in Economics and Management at the University of Latvia. His research interests include foreign direct investment and sustainable development.

References

Aga, G., Francis, D. C., Jolevski, F., Rodriguez Meza, J., & Wimpey, J. S. (2023). An Application of Adaptive Cluster Sampling to Surveying Informal Businesses. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 11(5), 1246-1266. https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smac037

Anderson, J., & de la Rosa, M. (1991). Economic survival strategies of poor families on the Mexican Border. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 6(1), 51-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/08865655.1991.9695404

Alshanskaya, A. (2024). Kazakhstan’s Youth: Navigating Future Employment Challenges. The Astana Times. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://astanatimes.com/2024/08/kazakhstans-youth-navigating-future-employment-challenges/

Antonopoulos, G. A., & Mitra, J. (2009). The Hidden Enterprise of Bootlegging Cigarettes Out of Greece: Two Schemes of Illegal Entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 22(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2009.10593438

Chadambuka, R. A. (2021). Exploring Informal Cross Border Trading and Poverty Reduction in Harare (Publication Number 31800977) [M.M., University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa)]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. South Africa. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/exploring-informal-cross-border-trading-poverty/docview/3161872441/se-2?accountid=27169

Gallie, D., Paugam, S., & Jacobs, S. (2003). Unemployment, poverty and social isolation: Is there a vicious circle of social exclusion? European Societies, 5(1), 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461669032000057668

Godfrey, P. C. (2011). Toward a Theory of the Informal Economy. Academy of Management Annals, 5(1), 231-277. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2011.585818

Hakansta, C., Gunn, V., Kreshpaj, B., Matilla-Santander, N., Wegman, D. H., Hogstedt, C., Vignola, E. F., Muntaner, C., Bodin, T., O’Campo, P., & Lewchuk, W. (2024). What is the Role of Minimum Wages in Addressing Precarious Employment in the Informal and Formal Sectors? Findings from a Systematic Review. International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services, 0(0), 27551938241286463. https://doi.org/10.1177/27551938241286463

Hart, K. (1985). The informal economy. Cambridge Anthropology, 10(2), 54-58.

Horn, A. (2011). Who’s out there? A profile of informal traders in four South African city central business districts. Town and Regional Planning, 59, 1-6.

Hung, P. W. (2019). Shuttle trade at China’s borders. Iias.asia. https://www.iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/shuttle-trade-chinas-borders

ILO. (2018). World Employment Social Outlook. International Labour Organization. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=400&nr=2517&menu=1515

ILO. (2023). Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical update. International Labour Organization. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://www.ilo.org/publications/women-and-men-informal-economy-statistical-update

ILO. (2025). Statistics on the informal economy. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/informality/

IMF. (2021). Five Things to Know about the Informal Economy. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/07/28/na-072821-five-things-to-know-about-the-informal-economy

IOM. (2023). Baseline assessment and surveys: international migrant workers in Kazakhstan. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://dtm.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1461/files/reports/KZ_Baseline%20and%20 international%20migrant%20workers%20Survey%20R1_04042023%20%283%29.pdf

Jarosch, G. (2023). Searching for Job Security and the Consequences of Job Loss. Econometrica, 91(3), 903-942. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA14008

Kahiya, E., & Kadirov, D. (2020). Informal Cross Border Trade as a Substratum Marketing System: A Review and Conceptual Framework. Journal of Macromarketing, 40(1), 88-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146719897115

Kim, S. K. (2014). “I am well-cooked food”: survival strategies of North Korean female border-crossers and possibilities for empowerment. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 15(4), 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649373.2014.972663

Leonard, M. (2000). Coping strategies in developed and developing societies: the workings of the informal economy. Journal of International Development, 12(8), 1069-1085. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.696

Lillis, J. (2023). Kazakhstan: Smuggling still rife on border with China. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-smuggling-still-rife-on-border-with-china

Linh, B. K. (2024). Vulnerability of the informal sector in an emerging economy: a multi-level analysis. International Review of Applied Economics, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/02692171.2024.2404876

OEC. (2023). China and Kazakhstan Trade. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/chn/partner/kaz

OECD/ILO. (2019). Tackling Vulnerability in the Informal Economy. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/939b7bcd-en

Omarova, Z. (2025). Bilateral Trade Turnover Between Kazakhstan and China Reaches $43.8 Billion. The Astana Times. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://astanatimes.com/2025/01/bilateral-trade-turnover-between-kazakhstan-and-china-reaches-43-8-billion/

Polese, A. (2023). What is informality? (Mapping) “the art of bypassing the state” in Eurasian spaces - and beyond. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 64(3), 322-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2021.1992791

Polese, A., Moisé, G. M., Tokyzhanova, T., Aguzzi, T., Kerikmäe, T., Sagynbaeva, A., Sauka, A., & Seliverstova, O. (2023). Informality versus shadow economy: reflecting on the first results of a manager’s survey in Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Survey, 42(1), 149-170. https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2022.2093328

Rosser, J. B., Rosser, M. V., & Ahmed, E. (2000). Income Inequality and the Informal Economy in Transition Economies. Journal of Comparative Economics, 28(1), 156-171. https://doi.org/10.1006/jcec.2000.1645

Senoret, A., Ramirez, M. I., & Rehner, J. (2022). Employment and sustainability: The relation between precarious work and spatial inequality in the neoliberal city. World Development, 153, 105840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105840

Sharma, B. P., & Adhikari, D. B. (2020). Informal Economy and Poverty Dynamics: A Review. Quest Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 2(1), 130-140. https://doi.org/10.3126/qjmss.v2i1.29028

Sikder, M. J. U., & Sarkar, B. K. (2005). Livelihoods and informal trade at the Bangladesh border. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 6(3), 432-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649370500170134

Tanaka, K., & Greaney, T. M. (2024). Trade and employment in the formal and informal sectors: A natural experiment from Cambodia. Journal of Asian Economics, 90, 101676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asieco.2023.101676

Tokman, V. E. (2007). The informal economy, insecurity and social cohesion in Latin America. International Labour Review, 146(1-2), 81-107. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1564-913X.2007.00006.x

Utzet, M., Botias, F., Silva-Penaherrera, M., Tobías, A., & Benavides, F. G. (2021). Informal employment and poor self-perceived health in Latin America and the Caribbean: a gender-based comparison between countries and welfare states in a pooled analysis of 176,786 workers. Globalization and Health, 17(1), 140. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-021-00792-3

Vagit, I. (2025). Every Third Kazakhstani Works Informally or Hides Their Income. The Times Of Central Asia. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://timesca.com/every-third-kazakhstani-works-informally-or-hides-their-income/

World Bank. (2023). Methodology of the Informal Sector Enterprise Survey. World Bank. https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/en/informal-businesses/methodology

Yang, W. (2024). Unemployment continues to plague China’s youth in 2024. Voice of America. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://www.voanews.com/a/unemployment-continues-to-plague-china-s-youth-in-2024-/7892948.html