International headlines often focus on the drama of U.S.- Mexico border, but the borders of Latin America are becoming more active transit points for work across the region. Today, migration officials are noting labor movements inconceivable as little as 15 years ago: Hondurans and Guatemalans...

The proposal by Levy (2008) whereby a universal social insurance (USI) scheme is guaranteed to all workers, regardless of formality status, aims at abolishing the current contributory social insurance system and financing social insurance through value-added taxes instead (henceforth, the social...

Argentina had traditionally enjoyed one of the highest elderly coverage rates in Latin America. However, since the mid-1990s coverage rates started a steady decline, especially for low income workers. In response, the Argentine government implemented a series of sweeping reforms in the...

International headlines often focus on the drama of U.S.- Mexico border, but the borders of Latin America are becoming more active transit points for work across the region. Today, migration officials are noting labor movements inconceivable as little as 15 years ago: Hondurans and Guatemalans...

This paper analyzes the correlation between the expansion of the Mexican Conditional Cash Transfer program Oportunidades and the evolution of the labor market over the period 2000-10. We find no evidence of perverse effects. Program expansion was not associated with drops in either labor force...

We use a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium search and matching model with salaried employment and informal self-employment to analyze the implications of introducing universal unemployment protection for informal workers through transfers, which are conditional on participation in training...

This paper describes the reforms aimed at simplifying the administrative procedures for labor registration and the payment of social security contributions that were carried out in Argentina in 2005 and 2007. Analysis of the legislation, as well as a survey conducted among accountants, reveals...

On the basis of available data, this paper compares public sector employment and pay in Latin America and the Caribbean. It highlights the methodological challenges of gathering and making valid comparisons on the basis of such data.

This paper examines how a universal social insurance program proposed for Mexico can respond to cyclical variations in revenue while remaining selffinancing. More specifically, it discusses the issues involved in setting up a stabilization fund that can accumulate surpluses when revenue is...

This paper examines how changes in the legislation governing health and pension benefits that took place between 2003 and 2008 in Colombia affected the informal and formal labor markets. In particular, this paper examines two major changes in the legislation. First, it looks at the effects of...