Publication: Informality in Colombia : Implications for Worker Welfare and Firm Productivity
Date
2010-03-01
ISSN
Published
2010-03-01
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
The level of informality in
Colombia's labor market is high and persistent. When
measuring informality of workers in terms of their
contributions to health insurance and pension systems, 74.2
percent of all Colombian labor force was considered informal
in 2008. The informality debate has taken on a new sense of
urgency, as Colombia's robust economic growth in recent
years has not led to significant declines in informality.
Even during the period of high economic growth experienced
between 2001 and 2007, the share of workers in the informal
sector remained very high. This report presents new insights
to develop a better understanding of the nature, causes, and
consequences of informality and its implications for social
policies. The study analyzes informality using the
conceptual framework presented in the World Bank flagship
study on informality (Perry et al 2007), which shows that
informality in the region is a function of both exclusion
and exit, with some workers and firms opting out of the
formal sector based on their assessment of the relative
benefits and costs of formality versus informality. The
focus of this report is on exploring options to enhance
worker welfare and firm productivity through access to
public goods and services, including social protection and
productive inputs. Hence, the report adopts definitions and
measures of informality separate measures for workers and
firms that directly capture the extent to which they are
linked to the state and, thus, to public goods and services.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2010. Informality in Colombia : Implications for Worker Welfare and Firm Productivity. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2889 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”