Labor Market Dynamics Informality And Regulations In Latin America

Author : Mr.Antonio David,Samuel Pienknagura,Mr.Jorge Roldos
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
Page : 27 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2020-01-31
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781513523750

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Labor Market Dynamics, Informality and Regulations in Latin America by Mr.Antonio David,Samuel Pienknagura,Mr.Jorge Roldos Pdf

Labor markets in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are characterized by high levels of informality and relatively rigid regulation. This paper shows that these two features are related and together make the speed of adjustment of employment to shocks slower, especially when regulations are tightly enforced. Evidence suggests that strict labor market regulations also have an adverse effect on medium-term growth. While both regulations on prices (minimum wages) and quantities (employment protection) decrease the speed of adjustment to shocks, they appear to be binding in different phases of the cycle—the former affects mostly the (net) job creation margin and the latter the (net) job destruction margin. The results also highlight possible interactions between labor market regulations and the effectiveness of macro-stabilization tools—including exchange rate depreciation.

Author : Mr.Antonio David,Frederic Lambert,Mr.Frederik G Toscani
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
Page : 41 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2019-03-08
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781498302784

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More Work to Do? Taking Stock of Latin American Labor Markets by Mr.Antonio David,Frederic Lambert,Mr.Frederik G Toscani Pdf

We analyze the performance of labor markets in Latin America since the late 1990s. Strong GDP growth during the commodity boom period led to important gains in employment and a fall in the unemployment rate as labor demand outpaced an increasing labor supply. We emphasize the role of informality in the dynamics of labor markets in Latin America. A re-examination of Okun’s law shows that informality dampens changes in unemployment accompanying output fluctuations. Moreover, we present some evidence that countries with higher redundancy costs and cumbersome dismissal regulations, exhibit “excess” informality over and above what would be expected based on their income and educational levels. Labor market reforms could thus contribute to reducing informality and increasing the responsiveness of labor markets to output growth. However, looking at selected case studies of reforms using the synthetic control method, we find mixed results in terms of labor market outcomes.

Author : Antonio C. David
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 42 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:1304193488

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More Work to Do? Taking Stock of Latin American Labor Markets by Antonio C. David Pdf

We analyze the performance of labor markets in Latin America since the late 1990s. Strong GDP growth during the commodity boom period led to important gains in employment and a fall in the unemployment rate as labor demand outpaced an increasing labor supply. We emphasize the role of informality in the dynamics of labor markets in Latin America. A re-examination of Okun's law shows that informality dampens changes in unemployment accompanying output fluctuations. Moreover, we present some evidence that countries with higher redundancy costs and cumbersome dismissal regulations, exhibit 'excess' informality over and above what would be expected based on their income and educational levels. Labor market reforms could thus contribute to reducing informality and increasing the responsiveness of labor markets to output growth. However, looking at selected case studies of reforms using the synthetic control method, we find mixed results in terms of labor market outcomes.

Author : Sebastian Edwards,Nora Claudia Lustig
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 366 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2001-06-29
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0815723245

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Labor Markets in Latin America by Sebastian Edwards,Nora Claudia Lustig Pdf

Many of the rules that govern labor markets in Latin America (and elsewhere) raise labor costs, create barriers to entry, and introduce rigidities in the employment structure. These include the exceedingly restrictive regulations on hiring and firing practices, as well as burdensome social insurance schemes. Such labor market regulations contribute to an over-expansion of precarious forms of employment and to rural poverty, and hinder countries from responding rapidly to new challenges from increased foreign competition. At the same time, other norms can reduce costs and raise productivity; they should be kept in place and their enforcement improved. For example, some occupational health and safety standards lower medical costs and save lives. One may also want to keep legislation aimed at providing a minimum social insurance for unemployment, old age, sickness, and disabilities. In practice, the most common decision that governments confront is not whether to intervene but to choose among different forms of intervention. This volume provides analysts and policymakers with useful insights on this issue. Part I addresses labor market institutions in a broader context, such as collective bargaining arrangements, minimum wages and poverty, and optimal unemployment insurance schemes. Part II analyzes labor market performance in Latin America, the links between performance and labor market regulations, and the status of labor market reform in the region. These questions are addressed for the region as a whole and in great detail for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. The book provides a comprehensive description of the existing labor institutions in Latin America, the problems they pose, and the trends in labor market reforms as well as the difficulties encountered by the reform process in specific cases. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Edward Amadeo, Jose Marcio Camargo, Alejandra Cox Edwards, Rene Cortazar, Enriqu

Author : Adriana D. Kugler
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2019-07-17
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781484393840

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Impacts of Labor Market Institutions and Demographic Factors on Labor Markets in Latin America by Adriana D. Kugler Pdf

This paper documents recent labor market performance in the Latin American region. The paper shows that unemployment, informality, and inequality have been falling over the past two decades, though still remain high. By contrast, productivity has remained stubbornly low. The paper, then, turns to the potential impacts of various labor market institutions, including employment protection legislation (EPL), minimum wages (MW), payroll taxes, unemployment insurance (UI) and collective bargaining, as well as the impacts of demographic changes on labor market performance. The paper relies on evidence from carefully conducted studies based on micro-data for countries in the region and for other countries with similar income levels to draw conclusions on the impact of labor market institutions and demographic factors on unemployment, informality, inequality and productivity. The decreases in unemployment and informality can be partly explained by the reduced strictness of EPL and payroll taxes, but also by the increased shares of more educated and older workers. By contrast, the fall in inequality starting in 2002 can be explained by a combination of binding MW throughout most of the region and, to a lesser extent, by the introduction of UI systems in some countries and the role of unions in countries with moderate unionization rates. Falling inequality can also be explained by the fall in the returns to skill associated with increased share of more educated and older workers.

Author : James J. Heckman,Carmen Pages
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 585 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2007-11-01
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780226322858

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Law and Employment by James J. Heckman,Carmen Pages Pdf

Law and Employment analyzes the effects of regulation and deregulation on Latin American labor markets and presents empirically grounded studies of the costs of regulation. Numerous labor regulations that were introduced or reformed in Latin America in the past thirty years have had important economic consequences. Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman and Carmen Pagés document the behavior of firms attempting to stay in business and be competitive while facing the high costs of complying with these labor laws. They challenge the prevailing view that labor market regulations affect only the distribution of labor incomes and have little or no impact on efficiency or the performance of labor markets. Using new micro-evidence, this volume shows that labor regulations reduce labor market turnover rates and flexibility, promote inequality, and discriminate against marginal workers. Along with in-depth studies of Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Jamaica, and Trinidad, Law and Employment provides comparative analysis of Latin American economies against a range of European countries and the United States. The book breaks new ground by quantifying not only the cost of regulation in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in the OECD, but also the broader impact of this regulation.

Author : Inter-American Development Bank
Publisher : IDB
Page : 330 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1931003505

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Good Jobs Wanted by Inter-American Development Bank Pdf

Annotation There is a widespread perception that the structural reforms implemented in Latin America in the 1990s have failed to spur employment growth. This perception is fueled by rising unemployment, slow wage growth, rising wage inequalities and a heightened sense of economic insecurity. This year's edition of Economic and Social Progress in Latin America investigates whether this disappointing outcome can be explained by an abnormal adjustment to rapid changes in goods and capital markets, increased female participation in the workplace, technological change, and secular changes in the sector composition of output. In particular, the book examines whether there are important demands for change that are being thwarted by inappropriate institutions and rigidities. The report documents unemployment and underemployment, employment creation and destruction, productivity growth, and the wage level and inequality. It includes a CD-ROM with data on labor markets in the region.

Author : Guillermo Perry
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780821370933

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Informality by Guillermo Perry Pdf

Analyzes informality in Latin America, exploring root causes and reasons for and implications of its growth. This book uses two distinct but complementary lenses. It concludes that reducing informality levels and overcoming the "culture of informality" will require actions to increase aggregate productivity in the economy.

Author : Helena Ribe,David Robalino,Ian Walker
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 455 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2012-03-13
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780821389065

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From Right to Reality by Helena Ribe,David Robalino,Ian Walker Pdf

This study highlights the interaction between social protection (SP) programs and labor markets in the Latin America region. It presents new evidence on the limited coverage of existing programs and emphasizes the challenges caused by high informality for achieving universal social protection for old age income, health, unemployment risks and anti-poverty safety nets. It identifies interaction effects between SP programs and the behavioral responses of workers, firms and social protection providers, which can further undermine efforts to expand coverage, summarizing evidence from recent work across the region. The book argues for a re-design of financing to eliminate cross subsidies between members of contributory programs and subsidies that effectively tax income from formal employment. It advocates well-targeted, tax-funded, tapered subsidies to provide incentives to the savings efforts of low-income workers, coupled with an effective safety net for the extreme poor who have no capacity to contribute to financing their own social protection arrangements. It also argues for the consolidation of programs and harmonization of benefits packages across different insurers. The book develops an overall conceptual framework and presents in-depth analysis of the main SP sectors of pensions, health, unemployment insurance and labor market programs, and safety net transfers.

Author : José Antonio González Anaya
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 82 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : UCSD:31822027787399

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Labor Market Flexibility in Thirteen Latin American Countries and the United States by José Antonio González Anaya Pdf

This paper studies labor market flexibility in 13 Latin American countries--Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela--since the 1960s and 1970s by looking at the sensitivity of employment and unemployment, and real wages with respect to output. It finds that price stabilization has brought real-wage stability, but that it has tended to increase uncertainty of job security. It argues that declining inflation makes labor market rigidities binding because labor markets cannot absorb output shocks through prices. Cyclical relationships are studies by constructing Okun coefficients for unemployment, employment, and wages using first differences and the cyclical component of a Hodrick-Prescott (HP) decomposition of the series. This paper finds that compared with the United States, output fluctuations in Latin America have a small effect on employment and unemployment, but a large effect on real wages. The most important determinants of the flexibility indicators are labor market reforms. Long-term relationships are studies using a standard production function and the permanent component of the HP decomposition of the series. In all seven countries that implemented a price stabilization program, the output elasticity of employment increased, implying higher productivity and lower employment generation.

Author : International Monetary Fund
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
Page : 414 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2021-07-23
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781513575919

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The Global Informal Workforce by International Monetary Fund Pdf

The Global Informal Workforce is a fresh look at the informal economy around the world and its impact on the macroeconomy. The book covers interactions between the informal economy, labor and product markets, gender equality, fiscal institutions and outcomes, social protection, and financial inclusion. Informality is a widespread and persistent phenomenon that affects how fast economies can grow, develop, and provide decent economic opportunities for their populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to uncover the vulnerabilities of the informal workforce.

Author : William Francis Maloney
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Informal sector (Economics)
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Informality Revisited by William Francis Maloney Pdf

The author develops a view of the informal sector in developing countries primarily as an unregulated micro-entrepreneurial sector and not as a disadvantaged residual of segmented labor markets. Drawing on recent work from Latin America, he offers alternative explanations for many of the characteristics of the informal sector customarily regarded as evidence of its inferiority.

Author : D. Lederman
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Electronic book
ISBN : OCLC:1066556293

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Fall of Wage Flexibility by D. Lederman Pdf

Author : Jürgen Weller,United Nations. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Publisher : United Nations Publications
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : UCSD:31822029884756

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Economic Reforms, Growth and Employment by Jürgen Weller,United Nations. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Pdf

In the last ten to fifteen years, profound structural reforms have moved Latin America and the Caribbean from closed, state-dominated economies to ones that are more market-oriented and open. Policymakers expected that these changes would speed up growth. This book is part of a multi-year project to determine whether these expectation have been fulfilled. Analysing the impact of the reforms on employment it is argued that expectations were not fulfilled with respect to the operation of the labour markets. The reforms limited the expansion of employment in some sectors, particularly in tradeable goods. They also created a bias in labour demad for better educated workers which exacerbates inequality. It is thus made clear that the region faces major challenges both in increasing the number of jobs and improving job equality.

Author : Pierre-Richard Agénor
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
Page : 98 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 1995-11-01
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781451854787

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The Labor Market and Economic Adjustment by Pierre-Richard Agénor Pdf

This paper examines the role of the labor market in the transmission process of adjustment policies in developing countries. It begins by reviewing the recent evidence regarding the functioning of these markets. It then studies the implications of wage inertia, nominal contracts, labor market segmentation, and impediments to labor mobility for stabilization policies. The effect of labor market reforms on economic flexibility and the channels through which labor market imperfections alter the effects of structural adjustment measures are discussed next. The last part of the paper identifies a variety of issues that may require further investigation, such as the link between changes in relative wages and the distributional effects of adjustment policies.