Brazil: the pressure points in labor legislation

Brazil���s experience shows that the economic and political history of a country is a critical determinant of which labor laws influence wages and employment, and which are not binding. Long periods of high inflation, illiteracy of the workforce, and biases in the design and enforcement of labor legislation bred by the country���s socioeconomic history are all important in determining the reach of labor laws. Defying conventional wisdom, these factors are shown to affect labor market outcomes even in the sector of employment regarded as unregulated. Following accepted practice in Brazil, we distinguish regulated from unregulated employment by determining whether or not the contract has been ratified by the Ministry of Labor, viz., groups of workers with and without signed work booklet. We then examine the degree of adherence to labor laws in the formal and informal sectors, and finds ���pressure points��� ��� viz., evidence of the law on minimum wage, work-hours, and payment timing being binding on outcomes ��� in both the formal and informal sectors of the Brazilian labor market. The findings of the paper imply that in terms of the design of legislation, informality in Brazil is mainly a fiscal, and not a legal phenomenon. But the manner in which these laws have been enforced is also critical determinant of informality in Brazil: poor record-keeping has strengthened the incentives to stay informal that are already built into the design of the main social security programs, and ambiguities in the design of labor legislation combined with slanted enforcement by labor courts have led to workers effectively being accorded the same labor rights whether or not they have ratified contracts. The incentives to stay informal are naturally higher for workers who are assured of protection under labor legislation regardless of the nature of their contract, which only alters their financial relationship with the government. The paper concludes that informality in Brazil will remain high as long as labor laws remain ambiguous and enforced with a clear pro-labor bias, and social security programs lack tight benefitcontribution linkages and strong enforcement mechanisms.

Informality in labor market and welfare

The neoclassical growth model with two sectors in production is employed in this paper in order to investigate how a change in the tax structure affects informality and welfare. We calibrate and simulate the model and find that welfare always increases when we reduce the tax rate on the demand for labor and adjust the tax rate on the value added so that the government revenue remains constant.

A search-theoretic explanation for the negative correlation between labor income and impatience

Lawrance (1991) has shown, through the estimation of consumption Euler equations, that subjective rates of impatience (time preference) in the U.S. are three to ��ve percentage points higher for households with lower average labor incomes than for those with higher labor income. From a theoretical perspective, the sign of this correlation in a job-search model seems at ��rst to be undetermined, since more impatient workers tend to accept wage o��ers that less impatient workers would not, thereby remaining less time unemployed. The main result of this paper is showing that, regardless of the existence of e��ects of opposite sign, and independently of the particular speci��cations of the givens of the model, less impatient workers always end up, in the long run, with a higher average income. The result is based on the (unique) invariant Markov distribution of wages associated with the dynamic optimization problem solved by the consumers. An example is provided to illustrate the method.

Laws of large numbers for non-additive probabilities

We apply the concept of exchangeable random variables to the case of non-additive robability distributions exhibiting ncertainty aversion, and in the lass generated bya convex core convex non-additive probabilities, ith a convex core). We are able to rove two versions of the law of arge numbers (de Finetti's heorems). By making use of two efinitions. of independence we rove two versions of the strong law f large numbers. It turns out that e cannot assure the convergence of he sample averages to a constant. e then modal the case there is a true" probability distribution ehind the successive realizations of the uncertain random variable. In this case convergence occurs. This result is important because it renders true the intuition that it is possible "to learn" the "true" additive distribution behind an uncertain event if one repeatedly observes it (a sufficiently large number of times). We also provide a conjecture regarding the "Iearning" (or updating) process above, and prove a partia I result for the case of Dempster-Shafer updating rule and binomial trials.

The causal effect of family size on child labor and education

This paper investigates the causal relationship between family size and child labor and education among brazilian children. More especifically, it analyzes the impact of family size on child labor, school attendance, literacy and school progression. It explores the exogenous variation in family size driven by the presence of twins in the family. The results are consistent under the reasonable assumption that the instrument is a random event. Using the nationally representative brazilian household survey (Pnad), detrimental effects are found on child labor for boys. Moreover, significant effects are obtained for school progression for girls caused by the exogenous presence of the young siblings in the household.

Segmentation in the brazilian labor market

This paper measures the degree of segmentation in the brazilian labor market. Controlling for observable and unobservable characteristics, workers earn more in the formal sector, which supports the segmentation hypothesis. We break down the degree of segmentation by socio-economic attributes to identify the groups where this phenomenon is more prevalent. We investigate the robustness of our findings to the inclusion of self-employed individuals, and apply a two-stage panel probit model using the self-selection correction strategy to investigate a potential weakness of the fixed-effects estimator

Public policies impacts on Latin American labor structures, preparing for integration

One of the Main Subjects to Be Discussed, in Order to Adjust Latin American Economies to a Regional Integration Network, as Imposed By Mercosul or Other Economic Common Markets, is Related to the Employment and Other Labor Markets Public Policies. the Question to Be Posed Is: Having in Mind the Characteristics of Different Labor Markets and Labor Forces, What are the Impacts of Governmental Measures Presented in the Diverse Economic Conditions of Those Countries. Having in Mind These Impacts, This Paper Aims to Examine the Requisites to Adjust the Labor Structure Standards of Latin American Countries and What Would Be the Reforms to Be Performed By These Countries in Order to Prepare These Markets and Labor Forces to Adapt to Regional Integration Networks Represented By Mercosul, Alca or Other Common Markets. There are Evaluated the Impacts of the Globalization Process, Economic Stabilization and Reform Policies Undertaken By Some Selected Latin American Countries Since the Eighties on the Labor Structure Standards, Considering the Specific Adjustment Measures to Cope With the Negative Effects of These Policies. Next, Some Cases of Europe Union (Eu) Countries Measures to Prepare to Integration is Examined, in Order to Provide Some Elements to Better Understand the Possibilities to Handle With the Extensive Changes in External Conditions. in Sequence Some Statistical Indicatives of the Impacts of These Measures on the Occupational Structuring are Analyzed For a Group of Selected Latin American and Eu Countries.

Avalia����o do impacto dos programas de transfer��ncia monet��ria condicionada na taxa de frequ��ncia escolar e labor infantil: o caso do Programa JUNTOS no Peru

Na presente disserta����o tem como objetivo avaliar o impacto do programa JUNTOS sobre a taxa de freq����ncia escolar e sobre o trabalho infantil nas crian��as de 6 a 14 anos. Estas duas vari��veis foram selecionadas para o seu estudo, pois ao nosso entender estas s��o as principais vari��veis que s��o influenciadas pelo programa JUNTOS e que tem uma influencia direta sobre o capital humano das crian��as e assim sobre a diminui����o da pobreza futura. As principais hip��teses derivadas das teorias de capital humano e de transfer��ncias de rendas condicionadas foram corroboradas pela nossa avalia����o: (1) o programa JUNTOS tem um efeito positivo sobre o incremento da freq����ncia escolar, (2) o programa JUNTOS �� efetivo na redu����o do trabalho infantil, (3) quando o chefe de fam��lia �� de sexo feminino, a renda familiar �� utilizada em bens e servi��os em favor das crian��as, e (4) o efeito do programa JUNTOS �� maior nas crian��as com piores caracter��sticas socioecon��micas (ex: menor renda familiar per capita, chefe de fam��lia com poucos anos de estudo, idioma do chefe de fam��lia, etc.) Outra conclus��o importante da disserta����o foi que o programa JUNTOS provoca uma realoca����o na oferta de trabalho intra familiar.

Microeconomic instability and children's human capital accumulation: the effects of idiosyncratic shocks to father's income on child labor, school drop-outs and repetition rates in Brazil

This paper evaluates the long-run effects of economic instability. In particular, we study the impact of idiosyncratic shocks to father���s income on children���s human capital accumulation variables such as school drop-outs, repetition rates and domestic and non-domestic labor. Although, the problem of child labor in Brazil has declined greatly during the last decade, the number of children working is still substantial. The low levels of educational attainment in Brazil are also a main cause for concern. The large rotating panel data set used allows for the estimation of the impacts of changes in occupational and income status of fathers on changes in his child���s time allocation circumstances. The empirical analysis is restricted to families with fathers, mothers and at least one child between 10 and 15 years of age in the main Brazilian metropolitan areas during the 1982-1999 period. We perform logistic regressions controlling for child characteristics (gender, age, if he/she is behind in school for age), parents characteristics (grade attainment and income) and time and location variables. The main variables analyzed are dynamic proxies of impulses and responses, namely: shocks to household head���s income and unemployment status, on the one hand and child���s probability of dropping out of school, of repeating a grade and of start working, on the other. The findings suggest that father���s income has a significant positive correlation with child���s dropping out of school and of repeating a grade. The findings do not suggest a significant relationship between a father���s becoming unemployed and a child entering the non-domestic labor market. However, the results demonstrate a significant positive relationship between a father becoming unemployed and a child beginning to work in domestic labor. There was also a positive correlation between father becoming unemployed and a child dropping out and repeating a grade. Both gender and age were highly significant with boys and older children being more likely to work, drop-out and repeat grades.

Cria����o de varas do trabalho espec��ficas para julgamento de processos tramitados pelo procedimento sumar��ssimo como mecanismo de efetiva����o da presta����o jurisdicional do Poder Judici��rio trabalhista

Atrav��s desta pesquisa, analisa-se a lei 9.957/2000, que instituiu o procedimento sumar��ssimo no processo do trabalho. Procura-se identificar os modelos de procedimentos utilizados na tramita����o do processo trabalhista, notadamente o procedimento sumar��ssimo e sua efic��cia, dentro da estrutura organizacional da Justi��a do Trabalho. Busca-se demonstrar a necessidade do cumprimento da lei n. 9.957/2000, como instrumento vi��vel para uma efetiva presta����o jurisdicional da Justi��a do Trabalho, nas a����es de valor abaixo de quarenta sal��rios m��nimos. Para atingir tais prop��sitos, abordam-se, inicialmente, aspectos te��ricos fundamentais relacionados ao acesso �� justi��a, aos princ��pios constitucionais da dura����o razo��vel do processo e da seguran��a jur��dica e, ainda, a interpreta����o e integra����o da legisla����o trabalhista. Em um segundo momento, demonstra-se a necessidade de reforma na estrutura organizacional da Justi��a do Trabalho para uma integral aplicabilidade do procedimento sumar��ssimo, em face da sobrecarga de processos em tramita����o nas varas do trabalho. Analisa-se, tamb��m, a vis��o dos operadores do Direito do Trabalho, jurisdicionados e serventu��rios da Justi��a do Trabalho sobre o procedimento sumar��ssimo, na qualidade de instrumento eficaz na busca de uma presta����o jurisdicional c��lere e, por isso, efetiva. Por fim, exp��e-se a proposta de cria����o de varas do trabalho espec��ficas para julgamento de processos tramitados pelo procedimento sumar��ssimo, como instrumento de celeridade da atividade jurisdicional e de redu����o do tempo de dura����o do processo trabalhista.