The role of the informal sector in the early careers of less-educated workers

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cano-Urbina, Javier
• 署名单位: State University System of Florida; Florida State University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.10.002
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 33-55
• 关键词: Informal sector; human capital; Employer learning; matching model; duration

摘要

Does work experience gained in the informal sector affect the career prospects of less-educated workers? This paper examines two roles that informal sector jobs play in the early stages of a worker's career: informal jobs may (i) provide the opportunity to accumulate skills, and (ii) act as a screening device that enables employers to learn a worker's ability. The paper develops a matching model of the informal and formal sectors that can accommodate both roles. Implied hazard rates from informal to formal sectors as a function of tenure are shown to differ depending on the role of informal sector jobs: human capital accumulation or screening. Using the ENOE, a longitudinal employment survey from Mexico, hazard functions are estimated for less-educated workers. The estimated hazard functions indicate that informal sector jobs play an important role by screening young less-educated workers. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.