Informality Traps

Despite large deregulation efforts, informal economic activity still represents a large share of GDP in many developing countries. In this paper we look at incentives to reduce informal activity when capitalists in the formal sector regulate entry. We consider a dual economy with a formal sector employing educated workers and an informal sector with unskilled workers. We show that high costs of education make labor migration and profits in the formal sector an increasing function of its size. Therefore, incentives to allow capital to be reallocated to the formal sector increase with the size of the formal economy, and unless the formal sector has reached a "critical mass" countries remain in a highly informal equilibrium. We conclude by reviewing policies that can push countries with large informal economies towards formalization.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masatlioglu, Yusufcan, Rigolini, Jamele
Format: Journal Article biblioteca
Language:EN
Published: 2008
Subjects:Informal Economy, Underground Economy E260, Economics of Regulation L510, Formal and Informal Sectors, Shadow Economy, Institutional Arrangements O170,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4744
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id dig-okr-109864744
record_format koha
spelling dig-okr-1098647442021-04-23T14:02:19Z Informality Traps Masatlioglu, Yusufcan Rigolini, Jamele Informal Economy Underground Economy E260 Economics of Regulation L510 Formal and Informal Sectors Shadow Economy Institutional Arrangements O170 Despite large deregulation efforts, informal economic activity still represents a large share of GDP in many developing countries. In this paper we look at incentives to reduce informal activity when capitalists in the formal sector regulate entry. We consider a dual economy with a formal sector employing educated workers and an informal sector with unskilled workers. We show that high costs of education make labor migration and profits in the formal sector an increasing function of its size. Therefore, incentives to allow capital to be reallocated to the formal sector increase with the size of the formal economy, and unless the formal sector has reached a "critical mass" countries remain in a highly informal equilibrium. We conclude by reviewing policies that can push countries with large informal economies towards formalization. 2012-03-30T07:29:31Z 2012-03-30T07:29:31Z 2008 Journal Article B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy: Contributions to Economic Analysis and Policy 19351682 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4744 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article
institution Banco Mundial
collection DSpace
country Estados Unidos
countrycode US
component Bibliográfico
access En linea
databasecode dig-okr
tag biblioteca
region America del Norte
libraryname Biblioteca del Banco Mundial
language EN
topic Informal Economy
Underground Economy E260
Economics of Regulation L510
Formal and Informal Sectors
Shadow Economy
Institutional Arrangements O170
Informal Economy
Underground Economy E260
Economics of Regulation L510
Formal and Informal Sectors
Shadow Economy
Institutional Arrangements O170
spellingShingle Informal Economy
Underground Economy E260
Economics of Regulation L510
Formal and Informal Sectors
Shadow Economy
Institutional Arrangements O170
Informal Economy
Underground Economy E260
Economics of Regulation L510
Formal and Informal Sectors
Shadow Economy
Institutional Arrangements O170
Masatlioglu, Yusufcan
Rigolini, Jamele
Informality Traps
description Despite large deregulation efforts, informal economic activity still represents a large share of GDP in many developing countries. In this paper we look at incentives to reduce informal activity when capitalists in the formal sector regulate entry. We consider a dual economy with a formal sector employing educated workers and an informal sector with unskilled workers. We show that high costs of education make labor migration and profits in the formal sector an increasing function of its size. Therefore, incentives to allow capital to be reallocated to the formal sector increase with the size of the formal economy, and unless the formal sector has reached a "critical mass" countries remain in a highly informal equilibrium. We conclude by reviewing policies that can push countries with large informal economies towards formalization.
format Journal Article
topic_facet Informal Economy
Underground Economy E260
Economics of Regulation L510
Formal and Informal Sectors
Shadow Economy
Institutional Arrangements O170
author Masatlioglu, Yusufcan
Rigolini, Jamele
author_facet Masatlioglu, Yusufcan
Rigolini, Jamele
author_sort Masatlioglu, Yusufcan
title Informality Traps
title_short Informality Traps
title_full Informality Traps
title_fullStr Informality Traps
title_full_unstemmed Informality Traps
title_sort informality traps
publishDate 2008
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4744
work_keys_str_mv AT masatliogluyusufcan informalitytraps
AT rigolinijamele informalitytraps
_version_ 1756571542649569280