Beauty salons and their importance in local economic development: the theoretical framework 29 8

Abstract

In the context of rural economies, traditionally characterized by their reliance on agricultural and livestock activities, the service sectors have gained increasing importance as mechanisms for productive diversification, social inclusion, and the stimulation of local markets. Among these emerging services, beauty salons represent a distinctive form of microentrepreneurship which, despite their apparent informality and small scale, fulfill profound economic, social, and cultural functions within the communities where they operate. This phenomenon is particularly notable in rural and semi-urban areas, where opportunities for formal employment are scarce, and where women and young people often turn to self-employment as a means of subsistence and economic autonomy. The present theoretical work is conceived as a critical review that interrogates the invisibility of such enterprises in formal economic literature, and proposes a theoretical revaluation of their impact through analytical categories such as resilience, productive informality, economic autonomy, and local value chains. Drawing upon a conceptual and bibliographic review, it will be argued that these businesses, far from being marginal, constitute a strategic foundation for strengthening rural microentrepreneurship, with direct implications for economic sustainability, gender equity, and the design of public policies aimed at territories with high structural vulnerability.