Looking at the trends in the four quarters of 2021, it is clear that (partial) lockdowns of sectors have been very bad news for business performance. Also not directly hit sectors like the care and service industry underperformed. The horeca, retail and cultural sectors were hit hardest by recurring lockdowns. Business services and technical professionals were more resilient. We have observed a strong decrease in sales, net margins, investment (willingness), solvability and entrepreneurial wages in periods of lockdown. They are (far) below the levels of the pre-Corona year 2019. Start-ups and the self-employed were the most vulnerable. The type of market in which entrepreneurs operate is of great importance. Turnover, net margins and entrepreneurial wages in the B2B markets are significantly higher than in the B2C markets. We were unable to establish any direct positive effects of the degree of digitization of businesses on net margins (Q2 special). Rather, the utilization of too many applications seems to deteriorate business performance. Entrepreneur digital skills are able to predict net margins better and positively. We will repeat this special in the near future as many businesses have only recently started to digitize. Entrepreneurs have lost their way in the forest of local, provincial, national and EU subsidies (Q3 special), halving the number of applications compared to 2015. Tax deduction programs seem far more effective than the dazzling diversity of subsidies. Owners of businesses with staff are especially willing to pay specialized advisors to detect and apply for subsidies on a “no cure, no pay” basis. There appears to be a strong link between the self-estimated sales skills of entrepreneurs and their turnover, and the short-term growth expectations (Q4 special). The more experienced and skilled in sales, the higher the quarterly turnover and the higher the growth expectation. However, 62% of entrepreneurs are unskilled or untrained in sales skills. And 30% of entrepreneurs indicate that they are not effective at selling. Overall, the lockdowns resulted in a growing number of entrepreneurs developing into marginal companies. Financial reserves, such as saved pensions and private/partner/family capital were depleted. Lockdowns also increased firm and private debts, which the majority of companies are unable to repay. Poverty is knocking at the door of many Dutch entrepreneurs and, even with the support of a partner income, only 4 out of 10 entrepreneurs earn a more than marginal living. Our main recommendations in the quarterly reports of 2021 are: 1. Strengthen the solvability of micro-businesses by converting tax debts in subordinate loans. 2. Pro-actively contact entrepreneurs to support them with support possibilities, (poverty alleviation) allowances and free coaching and sales, financial and digital training possibilities. 3. Start proactively discussing the viability of the firm and business model and possible ways to resolve debts. There is strong demand and shortages on the labor market, which makes this the perfect time to guide depleted entrepreneurs to (far) better paid jobs.
From the fast-food industry to the sharing economy, precarious work has become the norm in contemporary capitalism, like the anti-globalization movement predicted it would. This book describes how the precariat came into being under neoliberalism and how it has radicalized in response to crisis and austerity. It investigates the political economy of precarity and the historical sociology of the precariat, and discusses movements of precarious youth against oligopoly and oligarchy in Europe, America, and East Asia. Foti covers the three fundamental dates of recent history: the financial crisis of 2008, the political revolutions of 2011, and the national-populist backlash of 2016, to present his class theory of the precariat and the ideology of left-populist movements. Building a theory of capitalist crisis to understand the aftermath of the Great Recession, he outlines political scenarios where the precariat can successfully fight for emancipation, and reverse inequality and environmental destruction. Written by the activist who put precarity on the map of radical thinking, this is the first work proposing a complete theory of the precariat in its actuality and potentiality.
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Amateur Cities and Institute of Network Cultures are proud to present Feminist Finance Syllabus, a supplement to the Feminist Finance Zine titled Radical Care: Embracing Feminist Finance. It is a result of the Twitter conversations that took place during three launch events of the zine between April and May 2020.This syllabus is a starting point for diving into the field of feminist finance. It features scholarly concepts, grassroots projects, artistic thought-experiments, fictional responses, and questions without answers. The events from which we sourced the references and quotes featured in our syllabus are just snapshots of bigger discussions and are in no way exhaustive. Our discussions were influenced by the events of early 2020, the experience of living through the COVID-19 pandemic, and its socio-economic consequences. This perspective framed already existing feminist debates in a different way, adding new urgencies to particular struggles. We saw important lines of thought emerge in the discussion, and structured them into six topics: fundamental critiques, radical care, interdependence, units of account, alternative money design, forms of organizing.We would love to keep the conversation on feminist finance alive and this syllabus is an invitation to continue it. Download your digital copy of the Feminist Finance Syllabus here and follow the links in the syllabus to participate.
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