 Labour Formalization and Inequality: The Distributive Impact of Labour Formalization in Latin America since 2000Roxana Maurizio, Luis Beccaria and Ana Monsalvo Development and Change, 2022, vol. 53, issue 1, 117-165 Abstract: Inequality and informality are two characteristic features of the labour markets of Latin America. However, since 2000 the region has experienced a trend towards labour formalization and a reduction in wage inequality. This article analyses the inflows to formality in four Latin American countries — Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru — and assesses their distributive impacts. This aspect is relevant given that the increase in formal wage earners was particularly marked and it is not possible to determine a priori the sign and intensity of the impact of formalization on wage distribution. Therefore, the link between the two dimensions — inequality and formality — is an empirical question. The results of this analysis show that labour formalization had an important equalizing effect in Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador, but that this was not the case in Peru. Most of the existing literature focuses on the distributive impacts of the returns to education. This study complements the existing literature by showing how the improvement of working conditions contributes to explaining the decreasing trend of inequality observed in Latin America since 2000. Date: 2022 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:devchg:v:53:y:2022:i:1:p:117-165 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article More articles in Development and Change from International Institute of Social Studies |
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