Allocation of Usufruct Rights in Informal Markets: Evidence form the Streets

We analyze the results of a policy of massive allocation of usufruct rights to cuidacoches: persons performing surveillance of parked vehicles in the streets. Surprisingly, despite the low cost and the considerable benefits to legally acquiring the right of use on the block, half of the potential beneficiaries have rejected the subscription to the program. In order to understand this market and the mobility between being in the legal framework or outside the law, we built a unique database containing economic and sociodemographic information from cuidacoches in Montevideo. We highlight four findings: the heterogeneity in the reasons for accepting or rejecting the legal framework; the protection of the right of usufruct on the block as the main perceived benefit of complying with the legal framework; the desire to change jobs for the vast majority, and the low saving capacity.