process. Yet, formalization has many facets and shades on the business and labor fronts, and firms may not be able or willing …Too often, academics and policy makers interpret formality as a binary choice and formalization as an irreversible … to formalize all at once. This paper explores the joint process of business and labor formalization, using a unique panel …

This paper examines how firms in an emerging economy are affected by violence due to drug trafficking. Employing rich … utilization. Resilience to violence differs widely across different types of employment within firms and across firms with … of the most affected firms and the channels through which they are affected. …

find little evidence for most of the channels through which formalization is hypothesized to benefit firms, although …The majority of firms in most developing countries are informal. We conducted a field experiment in Sri Lanka which … provided incentives for informal firms to formalize. Offering only information about the registration process and reimbursement …

test which government actions work in getting informal firms to register. Firms were randomized to a control group or one …, and a significant but small increase in formalization from inspections. Our LATE estimates of the impact of actually … results show most informal firms won't formalize unless forced to do so, suggesting formality offers little private benefit to …

productivity and its determinants in the manufacturing and service sectors in Kenya. As the largest economy in East Africa, it is … communication had a positive but insignificant impact on firms' labour productivity. On the basis of these observations we make a …

been accompanied by a decline in the female labour force participation rate, which emerged as a major puzzle. Informality …, has led to greater absorption of workers, particularly women, in manufacturing. Looking at the future of work, the current … employment in urban areas. But the ability of the manufacturing sector to engage workers will be constrained by the capital and …

Firms often use social networks to find workers, limiting the pool of potential applicants. We conduct a field … experiment subsidizing firms' formal vacancy posting. The subsidies increase non-network employee search and shift vacancies … towards high-skilled positions. Post-treatment, firms continue searching for high-skilled workers despite reverting to network …

using nationally representative survey data of Indian manufacturing enterprises for the period 1995-2006. In these years of … account for 90 per cent of total manufacturing employment. In order to contrast between a 'modernization' and a 'stagnation … traditional informal activities is related to increased outsourcing by formal manufacturing enterprises. -- informal sector …

formal jobs rationing is limited and that mandatory pension contributions play an sizeable role in encouraging informality …