NewsWhore
07-25-2007, 05:40 PM
A recently released World Bank report, "Informality: Exit and Exclusion" focuses on informality as an obstacle to development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The reports findings show that 54% of the region's urban workforce is informally employed. The high levels of informality in Latin America and the Caribbean are seen as a sign of institutional flaws and, at the same time, they restrict opportunities for growth and social welfare and undermine the integrity of the region's societies, according to the new World Bank report.
This 'informality' is attributed to the precarious situation within the labor market, and the low educational level of the workers themselves.
The Dominican Republic part of the WB study, carried out in collaboration with the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, shows that of the 2.2 million urban workers in the country, 1.2 million are working under informal conditions. That is to say that they are not registered with the social services and do not receive the proper package of workers' benefits, such as old age pensions or social security. Half of the informal group work in small establishments or are on their own in low paying or low quality jobs. The study was presented by the World Bank's Guillermo Perry, chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean. "A better investment climate would help formal businesses to grow and increase their wages, thus reducing the attractiveness of staying informal," said Perry. The World Bank recommends the use of a combination of sticks (improved enforcement) and carrots (perceived benefits) to create the incentives that induce more workers and companies to become formal. For instance, through actions to facilitate new business registration, the simplification of tax laws, expansion of the benefits of formality (credit and market access, legal security, business development schemes), removal or reduction of labor market inflexibilities, improvement in the design and coverage of social security and social protection programs, with an even-handed and determined law enforcement.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)
This 'informality' is attributed to the precarious situation within the labor market, and the low educational level of the workers themselves.
The Dominican Republic part of the WB study, carried out in collaboration with the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, shows that of the 2.2 million urban workers in the country, 1.2 million are working under informal conditions. That is to say that they are not registered with the social services and do not receive the proper package of workers' benefits, such as old age pensions or social security. Half of the informal group work in small establishments or are on their own in low paying or low quality jobs. The study was presented by the World Bank's Guillermo Perry, chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean. "A better investment climate would help formal businesses to grow and increase their wages, thus reducing the attractiveness of staying informal," said Perry. The World Bank recommends the use of a combination of sticks (improved enforcement) and carrots (perceived benefits) to create the incentives that induce more workers and companies to become formal. For instance, through actions to facilitate new business registration, the simplification of tax laws, expansion of the benefits of formality (credit and market access, legal security, business development schemes), removal or reduction of labor market inflexibilities, improvement in the design and coverage of social security and social protection programs, with an even-handed and determined law enforcement.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)