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on Central and South America |
| By: | Anne Brockmeyer (World Bank); Francois Gerard (University College London); Gabriel Ulyssea (University College London); Linda Wu (University of British Columbia); Marcelo Bérgolo (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Rodrigo Ceni (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Benard Kirui; Andrea López-Luzuriaga (Inter-American Development Bank); Leonardo Fabio Morales (Banco de la República Colombia); Andrea Otero-Cortés (Banco de la República Colombia); Nadine Riedel (University of Münster); Matías Tapia (Banco Central de Chile); Tanisa Tawichsri (Bank of Thailand); Verena Wiedemann (Wolrd Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies formal employment dynamics using linked employer–employee data from eight countries spanning a wide income range from Kenya to Chile. First, we show that formality rates increase with development, both between and within countries, because more workers enter the formal sector, not because they spend more time in formal jobs. Second, formal labor market fluidity increases with development, as workers hold more formal jobs, spend less time in each job, and less time between jobs. Third, greater fluidity is associated with higher life-cycle wage growth, which is largely accounted for by within- rather than between-firm wage gains. |
| Keywords: | Formal employment, Labor market fluidity, Economic development |
| JEL: | J46 J63 O15 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-06-26 |
| By: | Alvaredo, Facundo; Bourguignon, François; Ferreira, Francisco H. G.; Lakner, Christoph; Lustig, Nora |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the evidence on the levels and trends of income and consumption inequality around the world during 2000–2019. It examines how inequality levels vary across countries, whether inequality has been rising more often than declining, and how conclusions depend on the underlying income concept and data source. The analysis draws on two types of evidence: inequality estimates derived from household surveys and contained in harmonized databases such as WIID, PIP, and LIS, and estimates based on distributional national accounts from WID. The analysis pays particular attention to differences between income- and consumption-based measures, the under-coverage of top incomes in household surveys, and the assumptions underlying distributional national accounts. Two findings emerge. First, inequality levels differ substantially not only across countries, but also across concepts and data sources within countries. Measures based on national income generally show higher inequality than those based on household surveys, while consumption-based measures tend to yield lower inequality than income-based ones. Second, trends prove more robust than levels: across sources, inequality was more often declining or stable than increasing during the two decades preceding the pandemic. There is also some evidence of convergence, with declines more common among initially high-inequality countries and increases more frequent among initially low-inequality countries. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper) |
| Date: | 2026–07–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:87twe_v1 |
| By: | Pazos, Nicolas; Herrera-Almanza, Catalina; Arends-Kuenning, Mary |
| Abstract: | Agricultural export booms can reshape local labor markets and expand formal employment opportunities for women. Yet little is known about their effects on intimate partner violence (IPV). We focus on the blueberry export industry in Peru, which disproportionately increased female labor demand, and estimate the causal effects of blueberry exports on IPV and related outcomes. We combine household data from the DHS with firm-level export data and leverage variation in blueberry farm openings and export quantities across space and time to identify causal effects. We find that exposure to blueberry exports significantly reduces the prevalence of IPV. We provide evidence that these results operate through improvements in the quality of women’s employment, with blueberry expansion shifting women from informal to formal jobs and increasing their earnings relative to their partners. These labor market gains are accompanied by improvements in household decision-making and higher divorce rates, consistent with a bargaining power mechanism. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea26:404602 |