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A Cohort Analysis of Labor Participation in Mexico, 1987-2009

Author

Listed:
  • Duval Hernández, Robert

    (Open University of Cyprus)

  • Orraca Romano, Pedro

    (University of Sussex)

Abstract

This paper conducts a cohort analysis of labor participation in urban Mexico in recent decades. The rates analyzed are the labor force participation, the unemployment rate, and the employment shares of the formal and informal salaried sectors, as well as of self-employment. These rates are decomposed into age, cohort, and time effects. The life cycle patterns of labor force participation and formal employment follow a standard inverted U-shape. Younger workers are more likely to participate in the informal salaried sector, while self-employment increases monotonically with age. However, significant informal salaried employment is also observed among older unskilled workers and women of different ages. Strong countercyclical variations are observed for the informal salaried sector, while the opposite occurs for the formal sector. Self-employment fluctuations are for the most part acyclical. These facts support a mixed view of the labor markets whereby some informal sector workers are rationed out of the formal sector, while others go into this sector voluntarily. The analysis also indicates that the female labor force is countercyclical, suggesting the existence of an "added worker" effect. Long-run generational effects show a steadily rising participation in the informal sector with a corresponding decline in formality among newer generations of salaried workers. Some preliminary explanations for this fact are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Duval Hernández, Robert & Orraca Romano, Pedro, 2009. "A Cohort Analysis of Labor Participation in Mexico, 1987-2009," IZA Discussion Papers 4371, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4371
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Paul Beaudry & Thomas Lemieux, 1999. "Evolution of the Female Labour Force Participation Rate in Canada, 1976-1994," CIRANO Project Reports 1999rp-02, CIRANO.
    5. Paul Beaudry & Thomas Lemieux, 1999. "Evolution of the Female Labour Force Participation Rate in Canada, 1976-1994: a Cohort Analysis," A Symposium on Canadian Labour Force Participation in the 1990s (Special Issue of Canadian Business Economics, Volume 7, Number 2, May 1999), in: Andrew Sharpe & Louis Grignon (ed.),A Symposium on Canadian Labour Force Participation in the 1990s (Special Issue of Canadian Business Economics, Volume 7, Number 2, May 1999), pages 57-70, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
    6. Guillermo E. Perry & William F. Maloney & Omar S. Arias & Pablo Fajnzylber & Andrew D. Mason & Jaime Saavedra-Chanduvi, 2007. "Informality : Exit and Exclusion," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6730.
    7. Wong, Rebeca & Levine, Ruth E, 1992. "The Effect of Household Structure on Women's Economic Activity and Fertility: Evidence from Recent Mothers in Urban Mexico," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 89-102, October.
    8. Lundberg, Shelly, 1985. "The Added Worker Effect," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 11-37, January.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lassassi, Moundir & Tansel, Aysit, 2020. "Female Labor Force Participation in Five Selected MENA Countries: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Tunisia)," GLO Discussion Paper Series 693, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Stephanie Aaronson & Tomaz Cajner & Bruce Fallick & Felix Galbis-Reig & Christopher Smith & William Wascher, 2014. "Labor Force Participation: Recent Developments and Future Prospects," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 45(2 (Fall)), pages 197-275.
    4. Arestoff, Florence & Djemai, Elodie, 2016. "Women’s Empowerment Across the Life Cycle and Generations: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 70-87.
    5. Di Novi, Cinzia & Marenzi, Anna, 2019. "The smoking epidemic across generations, genders, and educational groups: A matter of diffusion of innovations," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 155-168.
    6. Moundir Lassassi & Aysit Tansel, 2020. "Female labor force participation in five selected MENA countries: An age-period-cohort analysis," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2018, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    7. Nathalie Greenan & Majda Seghir, 2017. "Measuring Vulnerability to Adverse Working Conditions: Evidence from European Countries [Mesurer la vulnérabilité à la dégradation des conditions de travail dans les pays européens]," Working Papers hal-02172377, HAL.
    8. Abou Kane, 2014. "Analysis of Labour Market Participation in Senegal," Post-Print hal-01929090, HAL.
    9. César Vladimir Martínez Arango & Coralia Azucena Quintero Rojas & Lari Arthur Viianto, 2015. "Discriminación de género en redes laborales," Ensayos Revista de Economia, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Economia, vol. 0(2), pages 1-34, November.
    10. Cinzia Di Novi & Anna Marenzi & Francesca Zantomio, 2021. "Patterns of Red and Processed Meat Consumption across Generations: A Shift from the Traditional Mediterranean Diet," Working Papers 2021:01, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    11. Di Novi, Cinzia & Marenzi, Anna, 2022. "Improving health and sustainability: Patterns of red and processed meat consumption across generations," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(12), pages 1324-1330.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    informal sector; labor force composition; Latin America;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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