This book investigates the conditions under which informal workers organize to demand rights and influence state policy. Calla Hummel, a political scientist specializing in Latin American labor, utilizes a comparative framework to analyze how informal workers navigate state enforcement mechanisms. By examining the interaction between worker organizations and government agencies, the author argues that the threat of state enforcement often serves as a catalyst for collective action rather than a deterrent.

Scholars in the field of political economy recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of informal labor and state-society relations. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the rigorous methodological approach applied to complex political environments.