Is Informality a Good Measure of Job Quality? Evidence from Job Satisfaction Data

30 Pages Posted: 25 Apr 2011

See all articles by Carmen Pages

Carmen Pages

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Lucia Madrigal

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Date Written: December 2008

Abstract

The formality status of a job is the most widely used indicator of job quality in developing countries. However, a number of studies argue that, at least for some workers, the informality status may be driven by choice rather than exclusion. This paper uses job satisfaction data from three low-income countries (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) to assess whether informal jobs are less valued than formal jobs. The paper finds substantial differences in job satisfaction within different types of informal jobs. More importantly, according to self-reported measures of job satisfaction, informality is not necessarily associated with poor job quality. This correspondence varies across countries, and seems to be lower for less-skilled workers.

Suggested Citation

Pages-Serra, Carmen and Madrigal, Lucia, Is Informality a Good Measure of Job Quality? Evidence from Job Satisfaction Data (December 2008). IDB Working Paper No. 551, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1821902 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1821902

Carmen Pages-Serra (Contact Author)

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) ( email )

1300 New York Avenue, NW
Research Department
Washington, DC 20577
United States
202-623 3110 (Phone)
202-623-2481 (Fax)

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Lucia Madrigal

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) ( email )

1300 New York Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20577
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
80
Abstract Views
814
Rank
551,501
PlumX Metrics