A pluralistic framework for the study of economic exploitation
Nick Drydakis, Michael E. MartellPurpose
This study seeks to develop a coherent and ethically engaged research framework for the analysis of exploitation. It responds to the pressing need for a more critical and transformative framework capable of addressing the complex realities of exploitation within contemporary economies. In an era marked by deepening precarity, prevailing economic approaches often fail to interrogate the systemic nature of exploitation or to engage substantively with alternative perspectives. This study presents a structured vision grounded in normative commitments, interdisciplinary research and an epistemically pluralistic understanding of the economics of exploitation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study integrates a wide range of theoretical traditions to conceptualise exploitation as a structural, relational and historically contingent phenomenon. Through an agenda-setting analysis, it identifies priority areas such as digital labour platforms, reproductive labour, global supply chains and postcolonial institutional legacies. It promotes epistemic pluralism, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative approaches and supports participatory and community-engaged forms of research. The proposed framework is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly No Poverty (SDG 1), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10) and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16).
Findings
The study argues that exploitation is not merely a market failure but often a core mechanism of accumulation and control within market systems. It is sustained through legal and institutional arrangements that concentrate power while obscuring responsibility. The analysis demonstrates that exploitation is co-constitutive, and that gendered, racialised and colonial dynamics are embedded within economic structures. It further highlights the limitations of the dominant economic framework in addressing these systemic conditions and sets out the case for a research framework grounded in equity, reflexivity and historical awareness.
Research limitations/implications
The Pluralistic Framework for the Study of Economic Exploitation provides a foundation for rethinking economic inquiry in ways that centre power, history and social equity. It supports the development of transdisciplinary approaches, encourages mixed-methods research that reveals the hidden and informal dimensions of exploitation and promotes collaborative inquiry that bridges academic research with lived experience. It also invites deeper engagement with Southern, Indigenous and feminist epistemologies.
Social implications
By foregrounding the lived experiences of those most affected by exploitation, the study contributes to the production of knowledge that is inclusive, critically engaged and emancipatory. It advances a vision of research that not only analyses systems of exploitation but also supports efforts to address them. In doing so, it aims to promote research that informs policy, legal reform and grassroots interventions.
Originality/value
This study develops The Pluralistic Framework for the Study of Economic Exploitation, which is grounded in six principles: Structural and Relational Ontology; Epistemic Pluralism and Situated Knowledge; Intersectional and Decolonial Analysis; Normative Commitment to Justice, Equity and Transformation; Methodological Diversity and Grounded Inquiry; and Engaged Scholarship and Evidence-Informed Policymaking.