This work reviews come contributions of studies carried out by the ILO between 1995 and 2001 on the regulations affecting microenterprises and informal sectors in several countries of the region. It is pointed out initially that the consensus achieved on the benefits of paying more attention to...

In this paper the reduction of labor costs is examined as a factor that contributes to increase the competitiveness of manufacturing firms. It first reviews non-wage labor costs in the case of workers with indefinite labor contracts, workers with temporary contracts, and those non-registered,...

Since the ILO adopted the concept of informal sector, intricate discussions have emerged that, at least, gave a stimulus to the debate on development and permitted a better understanding of its problems and solutions. It is then of interest to study the limited but critical phenomenon of the...