Labor Markets in Latin America Combining Social Protection with Market Flexibility

by Edwards, Sebastian,; Lustig, Nora Claudia

• ISBN13: 9780815721062
• ISBN10: 0815721064
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-09-01
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Summary

Many of the rules that govern labor markets in Latin America (and elsewhere) raise labor costs, create barriers to entry, and introduce rigidities in the employment structure. These include the exceedingly restrictive regulations on hiring and firing practices, as well as burdensome social insurance schemes. Such labor market regulations contribute to an over-expansion of precarious forms of employment and to rural poverty, and hinder countries from responding rapidly to new challenges from increased foreign competition. At the same time, other norms can reduce costs and raise productivity; they should be kept in place and their enforcement improved. For example, some occupational health and safety standards lower medical costs and save lives. One may also want to keep legislation aimed at providing a minimum social insurance for unemployment, old age, sickness, and disabilities. In practice, the most common decision that governments confront is not whether to intervene but to choose among different forms of intervention. This volume provides analysts and policymakers with useful insights on this issue. Part I addresses labor market institutions in a broader context, such as collective bargaining arrangements, minimum wages and poverty, and optimal unemployment insurance schemes. Part II analyzes labor market performance in Latin America, the links between performance and labor market regulations, and the status of labor market reform in the region. These questions are addressed for the region as a whole and in great detail for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. The book provides a comprehensive description of the existing labor institutions in Latin America, the problems they pose, and the trends in labor market reforms as well as the difficulties encountered by the reform process in specific cases. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Edward Amadeo, Jose Marcio Camargo, Alejandra Cox Edwards, Rene Cortazar, Enrique Davila, Marta Lus Henao, Eduardo Lora, Hugo Hopenhayn, Darryl McLeod, Juan Pablo Nicolini, John Pencavel, and Carola Pessino.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction	1	(28)
Sebastian Edwards
Nora Claudia Lustig
PART ONE Labor Market Regulations, Market Flexibility, and Social Protection	27	(100)
2. The Legal Framework for Collective Bargaining in Developing Economies	27	(35)
John Pencavel
3. Minimum Wages and Poverty in Developing Countries: Some Empirical Evidence	62	(42)
Nora Claudia Lustig
Darryl McLeod
4. Designing an Optimal Unemployment Insurance Program, with Application to Argentina	104	(23)
Hugo A. Hopenhayn
Juan Pablo Nicolini
PART TWO Institutions, Regulations, and Labor Market Reform in Latin America	127	(201)
5. Labor Market Regulation in Latin America: An Overview	127	(24)
Alejandra Cox Edwards
6. Argentina: The Labor Market during the Economic Transition	151	(50)
Carola Pessino
7. Brazil: Regulation and Flexibility in the Labor Market	201	(34)
Edward J. Amadeo
Jose Marcio Camargo
8. Chile: The Evolution and Reform of the Labor Market	235	(26)
Rene Cortazar
9. Colombia: The Evolution and Reform of the Labor Market	261	(31)
Eduardo Lora
Marta Luz Henao
10. Mexico: The Evolution and Reform of the Labor Market	292	(36)
Enrique Rafael Davila Capelleja
Contributors	328	(1)
Index	329