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Transitions to Formality and Declining Inequality: Argentina and Brazil in the 2000s

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  • Roxana Maurizio

Abstract

type="main"> Although inequality and labour informality continue to be distinctive characteristics of Argentina and Brazil, during the last decade the two countries have been successful in reversing the negative trends of the 1990s. This article presents a comparative analysis of the labour formalization process that took place in Argentina and Brazil during the 2000s. It studies the flows towards labour formality, what caused them, and the interrelations of this process with the changes that occurred in labour institutions and the decline in income inequality. The study contributes to two debates: the role of labour market flexibilization in employment formalization, and the decline in income inequality. Most of the literature emphasizes the evolution of returns to education; this study complements this approach by analysing the contribution of formalization to the decline in inequality in Argentina and Brazil. The results show that labour formalization has reached all categories of workers, that it has been accompanied by real minimum wage increases, and that it has had an equalizing effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Roxana Maurizio, 2015. "Transitions to Formality and Declining Inequality: Argentina and Brazil in the 2000s," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 46(5), pages 1047-1079, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:46:y:2015:i:5:p:1047-1079
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    2. Fernández, Manuel & Serrano, Gabriela, 2022. "New Perspectives on Inequality in Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 15437, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Facundo Quiroga‐Martínez & Esteban Fernández‐Vázquez, 2021. "Education as a key to reduce spatial inequalities and informality in Argentinean regional labour markets," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 177-189, February.
    4. Roxana Maurizio & Ana Paula Monsalvo & María Sol Catania & Silvana Martinez, 2023. "Short-term labour transitions and informality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Lourenco Paz, 2022. "Does age modulate the impact of import competition on job type?," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 161-171.
    6. Luis Beccaria & Roxana Maurizio & Martin Trombetta & Gustavo Vázquez, 2016. "Una evaluación del efecto scarring en Argentina," Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad, Universidad de los Andes,Facultad de Economía, CEDE, vol. 77, August.

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