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The Informal Sector: An Equilibrium Model and Some Empirical Evidence from Brazil

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Author Info
Aureo de Paula () (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania)
Jose A. Scheinkman () (Department of Economics, Princeton University)

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Abstract

We test implications of a simple equilibrium model of informality using a survey of 48,000+ small firms in Brazil. In the model, agent's ability to manage production differ and informal firms face a higher cost of capital and limitation on size, although these informal firms avoid tax payments. As a result, informal firms are managed by less able entrepreneurs, are smaller and employ a lower capital-labor ratio. When education is an imperfect proxy for ability, the model predicts that the interaction of the manager's education and formality is positively correlated with firm size. Using the model, we estimate that informal firms in our dataset faced at least 1.3 times the cost of capital of formal firms.

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Paper provided by Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania in its series PIER Working Paper Archive with number 09-044.

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Length: 30 pages
Date of creation: 02 Dec 2009
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Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:09-044

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Related research
Keywords: Informal Sector; Tax Avoidance; Brazil;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents
K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior

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  1. Fortin, Bernard & Marceau, Nicolas & Savard, Luc, 1997. "Taxation, wage controls and the informal sector," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 293-312, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. William Maloney & Jairo Mendez, 2004. "Measuring the Impact of Minimum Wages. Evidence from Latin America," NBER Chapters, in: Law and Employment: Lessons from Latin American and the Caribbean, pages 109-130 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Fajnzylber, Pablo & Maloney, William F. & Montes-Rojas, Gabriel V., 2009. "Does Formality Improve Micro-Firm Performance? Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the Brazilian SIMPLES Program," IZA Discussion Papers 4531, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Loayza, Norman V., 1996. "The economics of the informal sector: a simple model and some empirical evidence from Latin America," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 129-162, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Mark Gradstein & Era Dabla-Norris & Gabriela Inchauste, 2005. "What Causes Firms to Hide Output? The Determinants of Informality," IMF Working Papers 05/160, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Aureo de Paula & Jose A. Scheinkman, 2009. "Value Added Taxes, Chain Effects and Informality," PIER Working Paper Archive 09-030, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
  7. Rauch, James E., 1991. "Modelling the informal sector formally," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 33-47, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Robert E. Lucas Jr., 1978. "On the Size Distribution of Business Firms," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(2), pages 508-523, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Friedrich Schneider & Dominik H. Enste, 2000. "Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 77-114, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Friedman, Eric & Johnson, Simon & Kaufmann, Daniel & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 2000. "Dodging the grabbing hand: the determinants of unofficial activity in 69 countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 459-493, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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