La informalidad laboral: entre los desafíos de la regulación y sus raíces estructurales

The concept of an informal sector was originally developed for the analysis of the production and labor market structures of developing countries. Later, legalist-institutional interpretations were elaborated, which located its origins in the reaction of economic agents to market regulations. With this article, we intend to contribute to the discussion on the origins and characteristics of informality. For this, firstly we review the main theoretical approaches on the concept and summarize the reconceptualization with which the International Labour Organization measures and analyzes it globally. Then, some key consensuses among these approaches are identified, especially the acknowledgement of the diversity of the origins of informality and the heterogeneity of its characteristics. On the other hand, disagreements persist on the main dynamics that determine these origins and characteristics, and we discuss the corresponding evidence. We highlight and illustrate how informality and its composition lead to a differentiated impact of economic growth on labor markets in general and in distinct phases of the economic cycle. Among the conclusions, we emphasize the complementarity of the analysis, on one hand, of informality in its legalist-institutional interpretation and, on the other, especially in regions such as Latin America, of the production and labor market structures that are the origin of a large proportion of informal employment. We stress the importance of continued research of informality from both perspectives to improve our understanding of present trends of informality and strengthen the policies and programs that foster the transition to formality.