Labor informality is a pervasive characteristic of the labor markets in Latin America, and a central issue in the public policy debate. This paper discusses the concept of labor informality and implements alternative definitions using microdata from around 300 national household surveys in all...

The paper investigates the effect of remittances on the coverage of financial deficits arising during youth and retirement years and their influence on some household behaviors. To this end, household survey information is used from Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua to perform a number of...

This document presents a systematic review of empirical approaches to the identification and measurement of the middle class as the concept is used in the applied literature. It then presents an arguably less arbitrary definition of the middle class which is based on sound principles of...

Este trabajo realiza un estudio comparativo del impacto de las remesas y la migración internacional sobre la pobreza y la desigualdad en cuatro países latinoamericanos con importantes procesos migratorios (Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras y Nicaragua). A partir de encuestas de hogares se estiman...

We study the risk of automation, the unfeasibility of teleworking and the risk of contagion due to physical proximity in the six largest economies in Latin America. We find that workers with low education, informal, and low-wage levels are the most exposed to this type of risk. Automation and...

The massive displacement of Venezuelan citizens to Colombia is the second most important episode of forced migration in the world. We study the impact of this demographic shock on the Colombian income distribution exploiting the geographical heterogeneity in the intensity of migration. We use...

The 'paradox of progress' is an empirical regularity that associates more education with larger income inequality. Two driving and competing factors behind this phenomenon are the convexity of the 'Mincer equation' (that links wages and education) and the heterogeneity in its returns, as...

This paper assesses gender differences in the effects of adverse conditions at labor-market entry in a developing region. Using harmonized microdata from national household surveys for 15 Latin American countries, we build a synthetic panel of cohorts that potentially transition from school to...

Using households survey microdata from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, we characterize changes in employment and wages between the mid-2000s and the late-2010s emphasizing the gender dimension from the viewpoint of the task-based approach. We employ surveys from PIAAC-OECD...