Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/33192 
Year of Publication: 
2005
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 1759
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper investigates how enforcement of labor regulation affects the firm's use of informal employment and its impact on firm performance. Using firm level data on informal employment and firm performance, and administrative data on enforcement of regulation at the city level, we show that in areas where law enforcement is stricter firms employ a smaller amount of informal employment. Furthermore, by reducing the firm's access to unregulated labor, stricter enforcement also decreases average wages, productivity and investment. Our results are robust to several specification changes, and to instrumenting enforcement with 1) measures of access of labor inspectors to firms and 2) measures of general law enforcement in the area where the firm is located.
Subjects: 
informal sector
labor market regulation
labor demand
flexibility
productivity
JEL: 
J3
J6
O17
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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