Although the size of the informal economy is relatively large across Latin America and the Caribbean, it is not completely understood how deficiencies in the institutional environment may be related either to the propensity for entrepreneurship or the performance of entrepreneurs in the informal...

Firms make investments in technology to increase productivity. But in emerging markets, where a culture of informality is widespread, information technology (IT) investments leading to greater transparency can impose a cost through higher taxes and need for regulatory compliance. This tendency...

Examines how a minimum wage policy may be used as a tool to promote gender pay equity. Includes case studies of Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.

During the 1970s and early 1980s the ILO carried out a number of studies on the informal sector in large urban centres of developing countries, including Accra, Lome, Yaounde, Dakar and Kaolack. These studies failed to elaborate on the nature and extent of the relationship between the informal...

Reviews the theoretical foundations and characteristics of unemployment insurance and its effects on the labour market and explores features of Latin American labour markets and unemployment insurance. Examines current legislation on severance pay and unemployment insurance in the region and...

Examines how the informal sector has been defined and outlines its major characteristics. Discusses implications of different definitions for research and policies, and describes the methodology used in studies of employment and training in Santiago and Bogota by way of illustration.