Informal Labor Markets in Times of Pandemic: Evidence for Latin America and Policy Options

Se documenta la evolución de los mercados laborales de cinco países latinoamericanos durante la pandemia del COVID-19, con énfasis en el empleo informal. Se muestra, para la mayoría de países, una caída en el empleo agregado, reflejada en una caída en la participación laboral y una disminución de la tasa de informalidad. Esto último no tiene precedentes ya que la informalidad solía amortiguar la caída del empleo agregado en recesiones anteriores. Usando un modelo de ciclos económicos con una detallada estructura del mercado laboral, se recuperan los choques que racionalizan la recesión pandémica, mostrando que choques en la oferta laboral y de productividad en el sector informal son esenciales para dar cuenta de la pérdida de empleo y producción y del descenso en la tasa de informalidad.

Immigration, Wages and Employment under Informal Labor Markets

This paper studies the labor market impacts of a massive inflow of Venezuelans in Colombia. By comparing areas that received different shares of migrants, I find a negative effect on wages and on local employment for natives. The negative wage effect is driven by a large drop of wages in the informal sector, where migrants are mostly employed, while the negative employment effect is driven by a reduction of employment in the formal sector, where the minimum wage is binding. To explain these results, I develop a model in which firms hire formal and informal workers with different costs. If these workers have a high degree of substitutability, and wages for formal workers are rigid, firms reallocate formal to informal employment as a response to lower informal wages. In settings with informal labor markets migration can therefore lead to asymmetric employment and wage effects across the informal and formal sectors.

How do immigrant legalization programs play out in informal labor markets? The case of Senegalese street hawkers in Argentina

In this article, we take advantage of the quasi-experimental situation of the 2013 legalization program for Senegalese citizens in Argentina to study its effects on immigrant street hawkers’ incorporation into the formal labor market, their working conditions, social integration, and collective mobilization. In order to understand the impact of legalization programs, it is important to acknowledge that in informal labor markets, the effects of amnesties are likely less pronounced than in predominantly formal markets. Furthermore, the scope of socioeconomic rights granted to unauthorized migrants and migrants’ subjective expectations and aspirations need to be taken into consideration. Based on 50 in-depth interviews and a small N survey, our study suggests that the legalization effect on Senegalese street hawkers’ access to the formal sector is limited. However, legal status does benefit migrants’ subjective well-being and their disposition to engage in collective action for labor and human rights.

From skill translation to devaluation: the de-qualification of migrants in Turkey

Within the context of the transformation of Turkey from a country of emigration to an immigration and transit country, the migration scene is becoming more heterogeneous, with both the formal and informal labor markets being increasingly internationalized. This paper focuses on de-qualification, defined as migrants taking on jobs that do not match their skills, which is a neglected issue within the migration literature on Turkey with the potential for further research. Based on open-ended interviews and participant observation in İstanbul, the paper elaborates on the different instruments of de-qualification. De-qualification is considered here as an important element of precariousness in the labor market, with different mechanisms functioning simultaneously; namely, accreditation problems, a language disadvantage, lack of information, and identity-based discrimination.