9411625 STOLLER This project is an exploration of the migratory experiences of Songhay-speaking peoples from the Republic of Niger and their on- going participation in the informal economy of New York City. The study will be the first full-length anthropological study of a West African community of migrants in the area. The research will focus particularly on the legal dimensions of the economic practices of migrants in the informal economy of a major U.S. city, generating empirical data on how migrants become conscious of and learn to interpret local laws. The study will make a major contribution to the scientific knowledge base about migrant behavior and will be useful for policy makers concerned with issues posed by the recent growth of immigration to U.S. cities and the migrant impact on informal urban economies. The principal investigators, who speak the Songhay language, will conduct interviews with street-vending migrants, with migrants in other informal occupations, with local business people in Harlem and other areas affected by the informal economic activities of West African migrants, and with city, regional and federal officials familiar with problems associated with immigration and the informal economy of New York City. The principal investigators will also conduct ethnographic fieldwork, engaging in extensive observation of West African migrant activities in New York City's informal sector. ***
