University of California—Berkeley, USA
IZA World of Labor role
Author
Current position
PhD candidate, UC Berkeley, USA
Research interest
Labor economics, international economics, development economics
Past positions
Research Assistant, University of California Berkeley, 2014–2016; Lecturer, PUC-Rio Department of Economics, 2013; Research Assistant, PUC-Rio, 2012–2013
Qualifications
PhD Economics, University of California—Berkeley, 2019 (expected)
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Fighting employment informality with schooling
Labor force composition is critical for understanding employment informality in developing countries
Daniel HaanwinckelRodrigo R. Soares, October 2017Developing countries have long been struggling to fight informality, focusing on instruments such as labor legislation enforcement, temporary contracts, and changes in taxes imposed on small firms. However, improvements in the labor force’s schooling and skill level may be more effective in reducing informality in the long term. Higher-skilled workers are typically employed by larger firms that use more capital, and that are more likely to be formal. Additionally, when skilled and unskilled workers are complementary in production, unskilled workers’ wages tend to increase, adding yet another force toward reducing informality.MoreLess