Informality Revisited

Maloney, William F.

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2004.01.008

Cited by 1,094 publications

(622 citation statements)

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“…We de…ne three age groups: the young group of all individuals aged between 25 and 35, the middle 1 6 See, among the others, Maloney (2004) and Bosch and Maloney (2006). The proportion of workers with completed primary, secondary or post-secondary education increased over time but remains at low levels.…”

Section: Informalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mexico in the 1990s: The Main Cross-Sectional Facts

Binelli

Attanasio

2010

Review of Economic Dynamics

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We describe the main cross-sectional facts on individual and household earnings, labor supply, income, consumption and wealth in Mexico in the decade of the 1990s. We use two di¤erent data sources: the Mexican Employment Survey (ENEU) and the Mexican Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH). The contribution of the paper is twofold. First, we integrate the two surveys to provide a complete characterization of the changes in employment, wages, income, consumption and wealth in the 1990s. Second, we highlight some distinctive features that characterize Mexican economy in this decade. In particular, we focus on the increase in the number of informal workers in the mid 1990s and we study its relationship with the increase in wage inequality.

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Section: Informalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mexico in the 1990s: The Main Cross-Sectional Facts

Binelli

Attanasio

2010

Review of Economic Dynamics

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“…See, for example, Boeri and Garibaldi (2006). 4 See for instance, Rauch (1991), Loayza (1996), Maloney (1999Maloney ( , 2004, Boeri and Garibaldi (2006), de Paula and Scheinkman (2007), Loayza and Rigolini (2007) postulate a continuum of entrepreneurial ability and workers sorting themselves among different formal and informal sectors of work. 5 The two views are, of course, compatible to some degree given the heterogeneity of the sector, and existing theory can accommodate this: a turnover based efficiency wage model such as that of Stiglitz (1974) allows for firms raising wages above market clearing to deter workers from entering selfemployment and, in the process, creating involuntary informality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative analysis of labor market dynamics using Markov processes: An application to informality

2010

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit company supported by Deutsche Post World Net. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its research networks, research support, and visitors and doctoral programs. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. Terms of use: Documents in Comparative Analysis of Labor Market Dynamics Using Markov Processes: An Application to Informality Mariano Bosch William Maloney D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E SIZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. ABSTRACT Comparative Analysis of Labor Market Dynamics Using Markov Processes: An Application to InformalityThis paper discusses a set of statistics for examining and comparing labor market dynamics based on the estimation of continuous time Markov transition processes. It then uses these to establish stylized facts about dynamic patterns of movement using panel data from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The estimates suggest broad commonalities among the three countries, and establish numerous common patterns of worker mobility among sectors of work and inactivity. As such, we offer some of the first comparative work on labor dynamics. The paper then particularly focuses on the role of the informal sector, both for its intrinsic interest, and as a case study illustrating the strengths and limits of the tools. The results suggest that a substantial part of the informal sector, particularly the self-employed, corresponds to voluntary entry although informal salaried work may correspond more closely to the standard queuing view, especially for younger workers.JEL Classification: C14, J21, J24, J64, O17

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“…Surely, some of the selfemployed are doing so by choice, but how large a percentage they are remains unsettled in the literature. Maloney (2003Maloney ( , 2004 and the World Bank (2007(a)) take the view that the percentage is quite large in Latin America in general and Mexico in particular, but this is a minority view. A more typical po sition is that of Duflo (2007, 2011), whose analysis of data for eighteen developing countries has led them to label such people "penniless entrepreneurs" or "reluctant entrepreneurs," engaging in such work because of few skills, little or no capital, and a shortage of wage jobs.…”

Section: Most Of Those Working In Developing Countries Work In the Prmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poverty and Low Earnings in the Developing World

Fields

2012

The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Poverty

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More than three billion people are poor by international standards, and essentially all are to be found in the low-and middle-income countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The issues for understanding poverty in the developing world -among them, self-employment and household enterprises, agricultural work, casual employment, and informal work -differ from those in the developed world. Different policy issues predominate: stimulating economic growth, harnessing the energies of the private sector, increasing paid employment, and raising the returns to self-employment. This chapter details how the poorer half of the world's people work and gives an overview of lessons from around the world on what has helped improve their earning opportunities. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research. Abstract More than three billion people are poor by international standards, and essentially all are to be found in the low-and middle-income countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The issues for understanding poverty in the developing world -among them, selfemployment and household enterprises, agricultural work, casual employment, and informal work -differ from those in the developed world. Different policy issues predominate: stimulating economic growth, harnessing the energies of the private sector, increasing paid employment, and raising the returns to self-employment. This chapter details how the poorer half of the world's people work and gives an overview of lessons from around the world on what has helped improve their earning opportunities. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research. JEL ClassificationsI3, J3, J4, O1

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Informality Revisited

Cited by 1,094 publications

References 28 publications

Mexico in the 1990s: The Main Cross-Sectional Facts

Mexico in the 1990s: The Main Cross-Sectional Facts

Comparative analysis of labor market dynamics using Markov processes: An application to informality

Poverty and Low Earnings in the Developing World

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