Labor market turnover and inequality in Latin America

This paper describes the patterns of worker turnover in selected Latin American countries and their implications for wage inequality. It documents a higher positive annual wage growth rate for jobto-job changers compared to stayers, due to turnover capturing the immediate gains from search behavior in the short run. Younger workers benefit relatively more from the positive effects of jobto-job changes, as expected. We also show that transitions are relatively higher within the informal sector for most countries, and particularly so for workers without college education. Moreover, total job separations and transitions from formal into informal employment occur more often among low-skill and young individuals. Next, the paper analyzes wage growth by percentiles for all workers and job-to-job movers for each country over a more extended period. We find that jobto-job changes are inequality-reducing in the short run, consistent with search gains associated with turnover exhausting more rapidly for high-paid workers. In contrast, we find that human capital effects dominate the search effects in the long run, as human capital accumulates over time. Thus, long-run wage growth is lower for job changers than for stayers, so that, while in the short run the search effects tend to dominate those of human capital, in the long run the opposite occurs. As unskilled workers change jobs more frequently, this suggests that job changes are inequalityincreasing in the long run. A potential explanation for limited wage growth in Latin American economies may include high informality rates. Policies to reduce wage inequality should focus on improving the conditions for positive turnover towards better investment and, thus, higher-quality jobs

Wages and Informality in Developing Countries

We develop an equilibrium wage-posting model with heterogeneous firms that decide to locate in the formal or the informal sector and workers who search randomly on and off the job. We estimate the model on Brazilian labor force survey data. In equilibrium, firms of equal productivity locate in different sectors, a fact observed in the data. Wages are characterized by compensating differentials. We show that tightening enforcement does not increase unemployment and increases wages, total output, and welfare by enabling better allocation of workers to higher productivity jobs and improving competition in the formal labor market

CONTRIBUIÇÃO AO INSS: EQUILÍBRIO FINANCEIRO E IMPOSTO SOBRE O TRABALHO

In this paper, we calculate the necessary payroll tax to reach the financial equilibrium of the retirement system for formal workers in the private sector in Brazil (INSS). Such an exercise allows us to identify the formal employees who contribute to the increase of the INSS deficit. Although we do not know the subjective value of the benefits provided by INSS for each worker, our intention is to have an idea of the tax (or subsidy) for each contributor, given by the simple difference between the actual and the necessary payroll tax. Using the Brazilian Household Survey (PNAD) for the year 2001, the conclusion is that the necessary payroll tax to balance the system varies within 0.19 and 0.33 percent, depending on the hypotheses about the duration of the contribution; and those related to disability benefits. Finally, we show a great dispersion when we compare taxes among different groups of workers. This result indicates that INSS is a powerful instrument to reduce wage inequality, when transferring resources from groups of a large wage category to those of a lower.

Wages and Informality in Developing Countries

It is often argued that informal labor markets in developing countries promote growth by reducing the impact of regulation. On the other hand informality may reduce the amount of social protection offered to workers. We extend the wage-posting framework of Burdett and Mortensen (1998) to allow heterogeneous firms to decide whether to locate in the formal or the informal sector, as well as set wages. Workers engage in both off the job and on the job search. We estimate the model using Brazilian micro data and evaluate the labor market and welfare effects of policies towards informality

Wages and Informality in Developing Countries

We develop an equilibrium wage-posting model with heterogeneous firms that decide to locate in the formal or the informal sector and workers who search randomly on and off the job. We estimate the model on Brazilian labor force survey data. In equilibrium, firms of equal productivity locate in different sectors, a fact observed in the data. Wages are characterized by compensating differentials. We show that tightening enforcement does not increase unemployment and increases wages, total output, and welfare by enabling better allocation of workers to higher productivity jobs and improving competition in the formal labor market

Instrução superior e mercado de trabalho no Brasil

The paper evaluates the higher education labor market insertion. It was showed that the return to higher education in Brazil is high and it has increased in the last decade. The return also shows to be high even taking into account people without a typical job for higher education. The high return to higher education seems inconsistent with its low attainment, since more than a halfof high school graduated do not go to college. This fact points to existence of barriers to access, like imperfection in credit market, and the need to reform the system. The parcel of people with higher education in a typical job is low and it has decreased in the last years, this can be an indication of an unbalance between traditional college degree and occupation in the labor market. However, it was showed that earnings is higher to people with a typical job

Instrução superior e mercado de trabalho no Brasil

The paper evaluates the higher education labor market insertion. It was showed that the return to higher education in Brazil is high and it has increased in the last decade. The return also shows to be high even taking into account people without a typical job for higher education. The high return to higher education seems inconsistent with its low attainment, since more than a halfof high school graduated do not go to college. This fact points to existence of barriers to access, like imperfection in credit market, and the need to reform the system. The parcel of people with higher education in a typical job is low and it has decreased in the last years, this can be an indication of an unbalance between traditional college degree and occupation in the labor market. However, it was showed that earnings is higher to people with a typical job

Texto para discussão 3: Contribuição ao INSS: equilíbrio financeiro e imposto sobre o trabalho

O presente artigo tem por objetivo encontrar, para os empregados com carteira de trabalho, as alíquotas de contribuição necessárias para fazer frente aos benefícios esperados do INSS em um sistema atuarialmente justo. Tal exercício permite identificar os empregados formais que contribuem para aumentar o déficit do INSS e aqueles que contribuem para diminuí-lo. Apesar de não sabermos o valor subjetivo dos benefícios para os trabalhadores, este artigo também nos permite ter uma idéia do imposto (ou subsídio) implícito para cada contribuinte do INSS, o que seria obtido pela comparação simples entre as alíquotas atuarialmente justa e efetiva. Usando os dados da PNAD-2001, concluise que, sob uma taxa de crescimento da produtividade de 3%, a alíquota média que equilibraria o sistema a longo prazo varia de 0,19 a 0,33%, dependendo das hipóteses feitas sobre o tempo esperado de contribuição e sobre a aposentadoria por invalidez. Por fim, quando se comparam as alíquotas entre diversos grupos de trabalhadores, observa se grande dispersão, indicando que o INSS possui um importante caráter distributivo ao transferir recursos dos grupos de maiores salários para os de salários mais baixos.In this paper, we calculate the necessary payroll tax to reach the financial equilibrium of the retirement system for formal workers in the private sector in Brazil (INSS). Such an exercise allows us to identify the formal employees who contribute to the increase of the INSS deficit. Although we do not know the subjective value of the benefits provided by INSS for each worker, our intention is to have an idea of the tax (or subsidy) for each contributor, given by the simple difference between the actual and the necessary payroll tax. Using the Brazilian Household Survey (PNAD) for the year 2001, the conclusion is that the necessary payroll tax to balance the system varies within 0.19 and 0.33 percent, depending on the hypotheses about the duration of the contribution; and those related to disability benefits. Finally, we show a great dispersion when we compare taxes among different groups of workers. This result indicates that INSS is a powerful instrument to reduce wage inequality, when transferring resources from groups of a large wage category to those of a lower.Número de páginas: 38 p.Orçamento e FinançasPolíticas EconômicasA série Texto para Discussão tem como objetivo divulgar resultados de trabalhos desenvolvidos pela área de pesquisa da Diretoria de Educação da Escola de Administração Fazendária, bem como outros trabalhos considerados de relevância tendo em vista as linhas de pesquisa da Instituição

A influência da opção religiosa na acumulação de capital humano: um estudo exploratório

This article explores Brazilian official statistics on religion, in particular 1980 and 1991 Census and 1988 PNAD special survey. It searches for stylized facts of economics of religion summarized in Iannaccone (1998). The papers main question is to test an empirical relation between the parents religious affiliation and the children performance at school. This relation may indicate the existence a causal relation between religion and families human capital accumulation. Results indicate that Brazilian data reproduces most of stylized facts and the existence of differences in children schooling among selected religious groups persist after controlling for socio-economic factors.Esse artigo emprega estatísticas oficiais, em particular os censos demográficos de 1980 e 1991 e o questionário especial da PNAD 1988, para explorar alguns fatos estilizados da adesão religiosa no Brasil. A questão central deste trabalho é verificar se a adesão religiosa das mães afeta a acumulação de capital humano na família, independentemente de fatores socioeconômicos que poderiam explicar pelo menos parte dos efeitos observados da opção religiosa. Usou-se a escolaridade dos filhos como medida para a acumulação de capital humano. Como resultado, obteve-se que as estatísticas brasileiras reproduzem, em grande parte, os fatos estilizados de teoria econômica da religião e que podem ser observados dife-renciais significativos de escolaridade entre os grupos religiosos

O ensino dos sistemas fisiológicos por meio de uma abordagem integradora: um enfoque na interdisciplinaridade / The teaching of physiological systems through an integrative approach: a focus on interdisciplinarity

O assunto de fisiologia humana é um dos mais acometidos com a falta de metodologias integradoras, uma vez que seus conteúdos são tradicionalmente divididos em sistemas. No entanto, esse tipo de abordagem pode favorecer acompreensão contrária ao que se sabe atualmente no meio científico, ou seja, os discentes subentendem que o organismo funciona de forma segmentada, sem as devidas interações que garantem o bom funcionamento do mesmo. Soma-se a isso, o fato que muitos dos educandos apresentarem relativa dificuldade em associar os termos científicos presentes no assunto às suas funções. Tais dificuldades podem estar atreladas a falta de competências básicas de leitura e interpretação, comum a realidade de muitos educandos e que compromete o processo de ensino- aprendizagem dos mesmos. A fim de reverter este cenário, o presente trabalho buscou, através de metodologias lúdicas e de fácil associação, propiciar o ensino dos sistemas morfofisiológicos do corpo humano de forma integradora e estimular a leitura e interpretação dos alunos. Para tanto, foi aplicada uma sequência didática utilizando modelização e jogos, a fim de facilitar o entendimento, trazendo o conteúdo para perto da realidade do educando. Verificamos que a utilização de estratégias metodológicas diversificadas possibilitou trabalhar melhor os conteúdos de fisiologia humana, integrando os sistemas de forma a permitir que os discentes compreendam funcionamento dos sistemas do corpo humano de forma integrada