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Heterogeneity in the Returns to Education and Informal Activities

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  • Marcelo Arbex
  • Antonio F. Galvao
  • Fábio Augusto Reis Gomes

Abstract

This paper investigates the e§ects of schooling on agentís informal earnings. We present a two-period model of informal activities and schooling, and test its implications using a survey of informal workers in Brazil. The model implies that there exists an education premium in the informal sector, at least for high skilled workers. We estimate the model using instrumental variables quantile regression approach, which is able to accommodate an interaction between education and unobserved ability in the earnings function. The Öndings suggest that returns to schooling are positive and monotonically increasing along the quantiles of the earnings distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcelo Arbex & Antonio F. Galvao & Fábio Augusto Reis Gomes, 2010. "Heterogeneity in the Returns to Education and Informal Activities," Business and Economics Working Papers 092, Unidade de Negocios e Economia, Insper.
    • Handle: RePEc:aap:wpaper:092
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    Cited by:

    1. Olivier Bargain & Prudence Kwenda, 2014. "The Informal Sector Wage Gap: New Evidence Using Quantile Estimations on Panel Data," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 63(1), pages 117-153.
    2. Italo Lopez Garcia, 2015. "Human Capital and Labor Informality in Chile A Life-Cycle Approach," Working Papers WR-1087, RAND Corporation.
    3. Tareq Sadeq, 2014. "Formal-Informal Gap in Return to Schooling and Penalty to Education-Occupation Mismatch a Comparative Study for Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine," Working Papers 894, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2014.
    4. Daeheon Choi & Chune Young Chung & Ha Truong, 2019. "Return on Education in Two Major Vietnamese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-30, September.

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