This article examines how the institutional, the informal, and the underground economy converge within the representative payee system, a federal program designed to provide needed income to poor, inner-city residents. Data from participant observation and unstructured interviews reveal how supplemental security income (SSI) entitlements help fuel the inner-city economy in two major ways: (1) through intended payments to individuals defined by the system as disabled and (2) through unintended payments to individuals using the role of payee to generate profit within the hidden economy. The analysis describes the representative payee system and how it operates. Subsections examine the processes of becoming a payee or client and the relationships between the two. Finally, the article analyzes how the payee system is integrated within the underground economy.
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