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Labor regulations and the informal economy

Author

Listed:
  • Loayza, Norman V.
Abstract
The informal economy, which evades labor regulations, provides employment for much of the labor force in developing countries. The author explores how labor regulations and imperfections in informal capital markets affect income inequality and the speed of industrialization. Empirical evidence shows that labor costs are higher in the formal sector, and that the cost of capital is higher in the informal sector (in part because many informal activities are illegal, so contracts are unenforceable). The author develops a theoretical model based on such factor-cost asymmetry. He applies it to an urban economy with and without ample supplies of labor from the rural sector. The dynamic analysis considers rural-urban migration and optimal capital accumulation. He finds the following. First, labor regulations that mandate workers'compensation above its market-dictated level induce the formation of an informal sector and thus the dispersion of wages across homogeneous workers. And labor regulations slow capital accumulation and retard the process of rural-urban migration. Second, when capital allocation to informal producers becomes more efficient, the informal sector expands relative to the formal sector, the gap between formal and informal wages narrows, and rural-urban migration speeds up. Finally, policies with an urban bias hasten rural-urban migration, inducing an expansion of the informal labor force relative to the total labor force. Post-World War II experience in informal economies in Latin America motivates and in some respects supports the theoretical findings, says the author.

Suggested Citation

  • Loayza, Norman V., 1994. "Labor regulations and the informal economy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1335, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1335
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. John Bennett & Saul Estrin, 2007. "Informality as a Stepping Stone: Entrepreneurial Entry in a Developing Economy," CEDI Discussion Paper Series 07-11, Centre for Economic Development and Institutions(CEDI), Brunel University.
    2. Bruno Chiarini & Elisabetta Marzano & Francesco Busato & Pasquale De Angelis, 2007. "State Aid Policies and Underground Activities," Discussion Papers 4_2007, D.E.S. (Department of Economic Studies), University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    3. Loayza, Norman & Palacios, Luisa, 1997. "Economic reform and progress in Latin America and the Caribbean," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1829, The World Bank.
    4. Cunningham, Wendy V & Maloney, William F, 2001. "Heterogeneity among Mexico's Microenterprises: An Application of Factor and Cluster Analysis," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(1), pages 131-156, October.
    5. P R Agénor, 2005. "The Analytics of Segmented Labor Markets," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 52, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    6. Partha Gangopadhyay & Sriram Shankar, 2016. "Labour (im)mobility and monopsonistic exploitation of workers in the urban informal sector: Lessons from a field study," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(5), pages 1042-1060, April.
    7. Alonso-Ortiz Jorge & Leal-Ordoñez Julio C., 2014. "Cross-subsidies, and the elasticity of informality to social expenditures," Working Papers 2014-26, Banco de México.
    8. Maloney, William F., 2004. "Informality Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1159-1178, July.
    9. Kamila Fialová, 2010. "Labor Institutions and their Impact on Shadow Economies in Europe," Working Papers IES 2010/29, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised Dec 2010.
    10. Francesco Busato & Bruno Chiarini & Pasquale de Angelis & Elisabetta Marzano, 2005. "Capital Subsidies and the Underground Economy," Economics Working Papers 2005-10, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    11. Diana Marcela Jiménez, 2012. "La informalidad laboral en América Latina: ¿explicación estructuralista o institucionalista?," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, December.
    12. Joanna Tyrowicz & Stanisław Cichocki, 2011. "Employed unemployed? On shadow employment in transition," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 38(2), pages 259-281, May.
    13. Roychowdhury, Punarjit & Dutta, Mousumi, 2011. "Regulation, governance and informality: an empirical analysis of selected countries," MPRA Paper 33775, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Klapper, Leora F. & Panos, Georgios A., 2009. "Entrepreneurship in post-conflict transition : the role of informality and access to finance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4935, The World Bank.
    15. Jorge Alonso†Ortiz & Julio Leal, 2018. "Cross†Subsidies, and the Elasticity of Informality to Social Expenditures: The Case of Mexico's Seguro Popular," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(2), pages 482-512, June.
    16. Saul Estrin & Tomasz Mickiewicz, 2012. "Shadow Economy and Entrepreneurial Entry," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 559-578, November.
    17. Roychowdhury, Punarjit, 2011. "Regulation, enforcement and informality: an analysis based on selected countries," MPRA Paper 32150, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Kamila Fialová & Ondrej Schneider, 2014. "Labor Market Institutions and Their Impact on Shadow Economies in Europe," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 5(1).
    19. Banerji, Arup & Jain, Sanjay, 2007. "Quality dualism," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 234-250, September.
    20. Roychowdhury, Punarjit & Dutta, Mousumi, 2011. "Regulation, enforcement and informality: an analysis based on selected countries," MPRA Paper 30818, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Maloney, William F., 1998. "The structure of labor markets in developing countries : time series evidence on competing views," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1940, The World Bank.
    22. Joanna Tyrowicz & Stanisław Cichocki, 2010. "Employed Unemployed? On Shadow Employment During Transition," Working Papers 2010-05, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    23. Soraya Roman, 2011. "Labour costs, informal economy and labor law reforms in Bolivia," Development Research Working Paper Series 08/2011, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.

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