Publication:
On Defining and Measuring the Informal Sector

dc.contributor.author Henley, Andrew
dc.contributor.author Arabsheibani, G. Reza
dc.contributor.author Carneiro, Francisco G.
dc.date.accessioned 2012-06-18T20:14:20Z
dc.date.available 2012-06-18T20:14:20Z
dc.date.issued 2006-03
dc.description.abstract A range of alternative empirical definitions of informal activity have been employed in the literature. Choice of definition is often dictated by data availability. Different definitions may imply very different conceptual understandings of informality. In this paper the authors investigate the degree of congruence between three definitions of informality based on employment contract registration, social security protection, and the characteristics of the employer and employment using Brazilian household survey data for the period 1992 to 2001. The authors present evidence showing that 64 percent of the economically active population are informal according to at least one definition, but only 40 percent are informal according to all three. Steady compositional changes have been taking place among informal workers, conditional on definition. The econometric analysis reveals that the conditional impact of particular factors (demographic, educational attainment, and family circumstances) on the likelihood of informality varies considerably from one definition to another. The results suggest growing heterogeneity within the informal sector. Therefore, the authors argue that informal activity may be as much associated with entrepreneurial dynamism as with any desire to avoid costly contract registration and social protection. However, the authors confirm there is no a priori reason for entrepreneurial activity to be unprotected. Consequently definitions of informality based on occupation and employer size seem the most arbitrary in practice even if conceptually well-founded. en
dc.identifier http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/03/6634942/defining-measuring-informal-sector
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8342
dc.language English
dc.publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseries Policy Research Working Paper; No. 3866
dc.rights CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder World Bank
dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subject CENTRAL AMERICAN
dc.subject COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
dc.subject COLLEGE GRADUATES
dc.subject COMPETITIVE PRESSURES
dc.subject CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject DISABILITY
dc.subject DISMISSAL
dc.subject DISMISSALS
dc.subject DISPLACED WORKERS
dc.subject DISPLACEMENT
dc.subject DOMESTIC WORKERS
dc.subject ECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subject EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
dc.subject EMPLOYEE
dc.subject EMPLOYERS
dc.subject EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
dc.subject EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
dc.subject EMPLOYMENT STATUS
dc.subject ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
dc.subject FIRING
dc.subject FIRING COSTS
dc.subject FIRM SIZE
dc.subject FLEXIBLE HOURS
dc.subject FLEXIBLE HOURS OF WORK
dc.subject FORMAL LABOR MARKET
dc.subject HOURS OF WORK
dc.subject HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS
dc.subject HOUSEHOLD INCOME
dc.subject HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
dc.subject HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
dc.subject ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject ILLITERACY
dc.subject INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject INFORMAL SECTOR
dc.subject JOB SATISFACTION
dc.subject JOBS
dc.subject LABOR CONTRACT
dc.subject LABOR MARKET
dc.subject LABOR MARKET REGULATION
dc.subject LABOR MARKET REGULATIONS
dc.subject LABOR REGULATION
dc.subject LEGAL STATUS
dc.subject LITERATURE
dc.subject MATERNITY LEAVE
dc.subject MINIMUM WAGE
dc.subject OCCUPATION
dc.subject OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION
dc.subject OCCUPATIONS
dc.subject OVERTIME
dc.subject PAPERS
dc.subject PREVIOUS STUDIES
dc.subject PRINCIPAL ALTERNATIVE
dc.subject PRIVATE SECTOR
dc.subject PROBIT REGRESSIONS
dc.subject PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES
dc.subject PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS
dc.subject RESEARCHERS
dc.subject SELFEMPLOYMENT
dc.subject SENIORITY
dc.subject SOCIAL PROTECTION
dc.subject SOCIAL SECURITY
dc.subject STAFF
dc.subject TEMPORARY WORKERS
dc.subject TOTAL EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject TURNOVER
dc.subject UNEMPLOYMENT
dc.subject UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
dc.subject UNIONIZATION
dc.subject WAGE DIFFERENTIAL
dc.subject WORK IN PROGRESS
dc.subject WORKER
dc.subject WORKERS
dc.subject WORKING
dc.title On Defining and Measuring the Informal Sector en
dspace.entity.type Publication
okr.crosscuttingsolutionarea Jobs
okr.doctype Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctype Publications & Research
okr.docurl http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/03/6634942/defining-measuring-informal-sector
okr.globalpractice Education
okr.globalpractice Social Protection and Labor
okr.identifier.doi 10.1596/1813-9450-3866
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum 000016406_20060303150551
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum 6634942
okr.identifier.report WPS3866
okr.language.supported en
okr.pdfurl http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/03/03/000016406_20060303150551/Rendered/PDF/wps3866.pdf en
okr.region.administrative Latin America & Caribbean
okr.region.country Brazil
okr.topic Tertiary Education
okr.topic Social Protections and Labor :: Labor Management and Relations
okr.topic Social Protections and Labor :: Labor Markets
okr.topic Social Protections and Labor :: Labor Standards
okr.topic Work and Working Conditions
okr.topic Education
okr.unit Development Research Group (DECRG)
okr.volume 1 of 1
relation.isAuthorOfPublication 2c308a64-886c-507e-98b9-54f74364d5c4
relation.isSeriesOfPublication 26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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