The Effects of Labor Market Regulations on Employment Decisions by Firms: Empirical Evidence for Argentina

Guillermo Mondino and Silvia Montoya

No 3263, IDB Publications (Working Papers) from Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract: There are few Latin American countries that produced such a remarkable turnaround in policies and outcomes as Argentina did in the 1990s. The large number of reforms yielded surprisingly strong growth and the near-disappearance of inflation. Perhaps the most striking change took place in the labor market, where job creation and destruction reigned in earnest. There, where reforms were moderate, high open unemployment was the result. This paper looks at the potential effect regulations might have on labor demand dynamics. In particular, we try to ascertain how movements in labor costs influence firms' decisions regarding job creation. The paper first presents descriptive evidence on who benefits from regulations and how much they cost. The evidence is based on PHS Microdata and identifies the effects on individuals' labor market outcomes stemming from varying regulations. The paper then turns to labor demand estimation.

Keywords: labor costs; labor demand; labor market; informal sector; labor law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2000-05
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:idb:brikps:3263

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