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Labor Informality Effects of a Poverty-Alleviation Program

Author

Listed:
  • Leonardo Gasparini

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

  • Francisco Haimovich

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

  • Sergio Olivieri

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

Abstract

In the midst of a serious macroeconomic crisis Argentina implemented a large social program – the Programa Jefes de Hogar (PJH) – that provides cash transfers to unemployed household heads meeting certain criteria. In practice, giving the difficulties in monitoring informal jobs, the unemployment requirement of the PJH would imply a disincentive for the program participants to search for a formal job. By applying matching techniques we evaluate the empirical relevance of this prediction during the period of strong economic growth that followed the crisis. We find some evidence on the informality bias of the PJH when the value of the transfer was relatively high compared to wages in the formal labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonardo Gasparini & Francisco Haimovich & Sergio Olivieri, 2007. "Labor Informality Effects of a Poverty-Alleviation Program," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0053, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    • Handle: RePEc:dls:wpaper:0053
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    File URL: http://cedlas.econo.unlp.edu.ar/archivos_upload/doc_cedlas53.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    6. Martin Ravallion & Emanuela Galasso & Teodoro Lazo & Ernesto Philipp, 2005. "What Can Ex-Participants Reveal about a Program’s Impact?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    7. Skoufias, Emmanuel & Parker, Susan W., 2001. "Conditional cash transfers and their impact on child work and schooling," FCND briefs 123, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
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    9. Orazio Attanasio & Emla Fitzsimons & Ana Gómez & Martha Isabel Gutierrez & Costas Meghir & Alice Mesnard, 2006. "Child education and work choices in the presence of a conditional cash transfer programme in rural Colombia," IFS Working Papers W06/13, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    10. Coady, David P., 2004. "Designing and evaluating social safety nets," FCND briefs 172, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Rawlings, Laura B. & Rubio, Gloria M., 2003. "Evaluating the impact of conditional cash transfer programs : lessons from Latin America," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3119, The World Bank.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Aterido, Reyes & Hallward-Driemeier, Mary & Pages, Carmen, 2011. "Does expanding health insurance beyond formal-sector workers encourage informality ? measuring the impact of Mexico's Seguro Popular," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5785, The World Bank.
    2. Ana Iturriza & Arjun S. Bedi & Robert Sparrow, 2011. "Unemployment Assistance and Transition to Employment in Argentina," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(4), pages 811-837.
    3. Rafael Novella & Laura Ripani & Claudia Vazquez, 2021. "Conditional cash transfers, female bargaining power and parental labour supply," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 422-436, March.
    4. World Bank, 2015. "The Impact of Targeted Social Assistance on Labor Market in Georgia," World Bank Publications - Reports 22502, The World Bank Group.
    5. Leonardo Gasparini & Guillermo Cruces, 2010. "Las Asignaciones Universales Por Hijo. Impacto, Discusión y Alternativas," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0102, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    6. Bosch, Mariano & Manacorda, Marco, 2012. "Social policies and labor market outcomes in Latin America and the Caribbean: a review of the existing evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 58003, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Raymundo M. Campos-Vázquez & Melissa A. Knox, 2013. "Social Protection Programs and Employment: The Case of Mexico's Seguro Popular Program," Economía Mexicana NUEVA ÉPOCA, CIDE, División de Economía, vol. 0(2), pages 403-448, July-Dece.
    8. Ricardo Bebczuk, 2009. "SME Access to Credit in Guatemala and Nicaragua: Challenging Conventional Wisdom with New Evidence," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0080, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    9. Adriana Camacho & Emily Conover & Alejandro Hoyos, 2014. "Effects of Colombia's Social Protection System on Workers' Choice between Formal and Informal Employment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(3), pages 446-466.
    10. Almeida, Rita K. & Galasso, Emanuela, 2010. "Jump-starting Self-employment? Evidence for Welfare Participants in Argentina," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 742-755, May.
    11. Schröter, Lars, 2008. "Die Rolle des informellen Sektors in der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung Argentiniens [The role of the informal sector in the economic development of Argentina]," MPRA Paper 11661, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 14 Nov 2008.
    12. Rafael Novella & Laura Ripani & Guillermo Cruces & Maria Laura Alzuá, 2012. "Conditional Cash Transfers, Female Bargaining Power and Parental Labour Supply," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 78223, Inter-American Development Bank.
    13. María del Pilar Casal & Bradford L. Barham, 2013. "Women’s Mobility in the Argentine Labour Market," Económica, Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 59, pages 88-125, January-D.
    14. François Gerard & Gustavo Gonzaga, 2013. "Informal Labor and the Cost of Social Programs: Evidence from 15 Years of Unemployment Insurance in Brazil," Textos para discussão 608, Department of Economics PUC-Rio (Brazil).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    informality; employment; Argentina; evaluation; program; Jefes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics

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