Law and employment : lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean / edited by James Heckman and Carmen Pages.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Heckman, James J. (James Joseph)

Pagés, Carmen.

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

National Bureau of Economic Research conference report.

A National Bureau of Economic Research conference report

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Labor market--Latin America.

Labor market.

Labor market--Caribbean Area.

Labor laws and legislation--Latin America.

Labor laws and legislation.

Labor laws and legislation--Caribbean Area.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (585 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Law and Employment analyzes the effects of regulation and deregulation on Latin American labor markets and presents empirically grounded studies of the costs of regulation. Numerous labor regulations that were introduced or reformed in Latin America in the past thirty years have had important economic consequences. Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman and Carmen Pagés document the behavior of firms attempting to stay in business and be competitive while facing the high costs of complying with these labor laws. They challenge the prevailing view that labor market regulations affect only the distribution of labor incomes and have little or no impact on efficiency or the performance of labor markets. Using new micro-evidence, this volume shows that labor regulations reduce labor market turnover rates and flexibility, promote inequality, and discriminate against marginal workers. Along with in-depth studies of Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Jamaica, and Trinidad, Law and Employment provides comparative analysis of Latin American economies against a range of European countries and the United States. The book breaks new ground by quantifying not only the cost of regulation in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in the OECD, but also the broader impact of this regulation.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Measuring the Impact of Minimum Wages: Evidence from Latin America

2. Labor Market Reforms and Their Impact over Formal Labor Demand and Job Market Turnover: The Case of Peru

3. The Effect of Job Security Regulations on Labor Market Flexibility: Evidence from the Colombian Labor Market Reform

4. Determinants of Labor Demand in Colombia 1976-1996

5. The Impact of Regulations on Brazilian Labor Market Performance

6. The Effects of Labor Market Regulations on Employment Decisions by Firms: Empirical Evidence for Argentina

7. Who Benefits from Labor Market Regulations? Chile, 1960-1998

8. Unions and Employment in Uruguay

9. Labor Market Policies and Employment Duration: The Effects of Labor Market Reform in Argentina

10. Labor Market Regulation and Employment in the Caribbean

11. Labor Demand in Latin America and the Caribbean: What Does It Tell Us?

Contributors

Author Index

Subject Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9786611223571

9781281223579

1281223573

9780226322858

0226322858

OCLC:

476228638