This study focuses on the relationship between trade and the growth of the informal economy in developing countries. Based on existing academic literature, complemented with new empirical research by the ILO and the WTO, the study discusses how trade reform affects different aspects of the...

The past half-century has witnessed a dramatic change in the way in which people live. Fifty years ago, only a small proportion of the less developed world lived in cities, and world poverty was overwhelmingly rural. In 1950, less than one-fifth of the population of the “third world” was...

Labor being by far the most abundant resource in low-income countries, the determination of the returns to labor plays a central role in models of development. The chapter discusses the operation of low-income labor markets with reference to the models that have been and continue to be...

This chapter covers selected topics for the 80% of the world's labor force that works in the developing countries. These topics are ones that have: (1) received relatively great attention in developing countries compared to developed economies (i.e., family enterprises, missing labor markets,...

This chapter reviews what economists have learned about the impact of labor market institutions, defined broadly as government regulations and union activity on labor outcomes in developing countries. It finds that: (1) Labor institutions vary greatly among developing countries but less than...

Using panel data for Indonesia, Malawi, Peru and South Africa, this paper investigates the relationship between transitions to formal employment and workers' labour income. It shows that transiting from informal to formal employment increases the probability of improving workers' labour income...