The Impact of Structural Reforms on Wages and Employment: The Case of Formal versus Informal Workers in Bolivia

Authors

  • Julius Spatz Kiel Institute for World Economics

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35319/lajed.20042321

Keywords:

Labor market, Informal sector, Wages, Employment, Structural reforms

Abstract

This paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing controversy on the distributional effects of structural reforms in developing countries. To this end, we set up a small-scale macroeconomic model of a dual economy to capture the transmission mechanisms through which the deregulation of product and factor markets, the liberalization of the trade and FDI regime, and the privatization of public companies impact on the distribution of employment and wages between the formal and the informal sector. We empirically test the implications of our theoretical model in a detailed case study on the structural reform process in Bolivia since 1985.

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Author Biography

Julius Spatz, Kiel Institute for World Economics

Kiel Institute for World Economics. Duesternbrooker Weg 120. 24105 Kiel. Germany. Phone++49 431 8814 212. Fax++49 431 8814 500. 

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Published

2004-04-01

How to Cite

Spatz, J. (2004). The Impact of Structural Reforms on Wages and Employment: The Case of Formal versus Informal Workers in Bolivia. Latin American Journal of Economic Development, 2(2), 91–122. https://doi.org/10.35319/lajed.20042321