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Recent changes in wage inequality in Argentina. The role of labor formalization and other factors

Author

Listed:
  • Luis, Beccaria
  • Roxana, Maurizio
  • Vazquez, Gustavo

Abstract

In the last decade Argentina experienced a process of wage inequality reduction that is in stark contrast with the trends of the previous decade. The purpose of this study is to analyze the contribution of different factors to this process. The method employed is a decomposition proposed by Firpo, Fortin and Lemieux (2007, 2011), which allows extending the Oaxaca-Blinder approach to decompose some distributive statistics of income between a ‘composition effect’ and a ‘returns effect’. Similar to other studies, the results reveal that declining returns to education have been a major factor explaining the improvement in the distribution of income observed in the 2003-2012 period. However, the process of labor formalization has also had an equalizing effect over the period.

Suggested Citation

  • Luis, Beccaria & Roxana, Maurizio & Vazquez, Gustavo, 2014. "Recent changes in wage inequality in Argentina. The role of labor formalization and other factors," MPRA Paper 56701, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:56701
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/56701/1/MPRA_paper_56701.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Sergei Suarez Dillon Soares, 2006. "Distribuição de Renda no Brasil de 1976 a 2004 com Ênfase no Período Entre 2001 e 2004," Discussion Papers 1166, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA.
    4. Gasparini, Leonardo & Galiani, Sebastian & Cruces, Guillermo & Acosta, Pablo A., 2011. "Educational Upgrading and Returns to Skills in Latin America: Evidence from a Supply-Demand Framework, 1990-2010," IZA Discussion Papers 6244, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2012. "Inequality Trends and their Determinants: Latin America over 1990-2010," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-009, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
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    7. Fortin, Nicole & Lemieux, Thomas & Firpo, Sergio, 2011. "Decomposition Methods in Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 1, pages 1-102, Elsevier.
    8. Leonardo Gasparini & Nora Lustig, 2011. "The Rise and Fall of Income Inequality in Latin America," Working Papers 1110, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    9. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    10. Maurizio, Roxana, 2014. "El impacto distributivo del salario mínimo en la Argentina, el Brasil, Chile y el Uruguay," Políticas Sociales 37208, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
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    14. Lustig, Nora & Lopez-Calva, Luis F. & Ortiz-Juarez, Eduardo, 2013. "Declining Inequality in Latin America in the 2000s: The Cases of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 129-141.
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    16. Damill, Mario. & Frenkel, Roberto. & Maurizio, Roxana., 2011. "Macroeconomic policy for full and productive employment and decent work for all an analysis of the Argentine experience," ILO Working Papers 994677873402676, International Labour Organization.
    17. Bertranou, Fabio. & Casanova, Luis. & Jiménez, Maribel. & Jiménez, Mónica., 2013. "Informalidad, calidad del empleo y segmentación laboral en Argentina," ILO Working Papers 994981293502676, International Labour Organization.
    18. Saúl Keifman & Roxana Maurizio, 2012. "Changes in Labour Market Conditions and Policies: Their Impact on Wage Inequality During the Last Decade," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-014, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
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    Cited by:

    1. Malena Arcidiácono, 2015. "Salario Mínimo y Distribución salarial: Evidencia para Argentina 2003 – 2013," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0192, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    2. Abramo, Laís, 2022. "Policies to address the challenges of existing and new forms of informality in Latin America," Políticas Sociales 47774, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; labor formalization; Oaxaca-Blinder; decomposition methods.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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