Law and Employment: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean ((NBER) National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Reports) - Hardcover

Heckman, James J; Pages, Carmen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226322823 ISBN 13: 9780226322827

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2004

Synopsis

Analyzing the effects of regulation and deregulation on Latin American labor markets, Law and Employment joins the ongoing debate about the virtues and costs of legislating mandatory benefits for workers. Of the numerous labor regulations that were altered or created in Latin America during the last thirty years, many have had unintended and far-reaching results. Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman, and Carmen Pages document the behavior of firms attempting to stay in business and be competitive while facing the high costs of complying with these labor laws. They challenge the prevailing view that labor market regulations affect only the distribution of labor incomes and have little or no impact on efficiency or the performance of labor markets. This volume shows that mandated benefits reduce employment, have a disruptive impact on turnover rates and labor market flexibility, promote inequality, and discriminate against marginal workers. Along with in-depth studies of Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, Law and Employment provides comparative analysis from a range of European countries and the United States, while also covering important changes in reg

About this title

About the Author:

James J. Heckman is the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and of Social Sciences and director of the Center for Social Program Evaluation at the University of Chicago, and a research associate of the NBER. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000. Carmen Pages is a senior research economist in the research department of the Inter-American Development Bank.

From the Inside Flap:

Law and Employment analyzes the effects of regulation and deregulation on Latin American labor markets and presents empirically grounded studies of the costs of regulation.

Numerous labor regulations that were introduced or reformed in Latin America in the past thirty years have had important economic consequences. Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman and Carmen Pagés document the behavior of firms attempting to stay in business and be competitive while facing the high costs of complying with these labor laws. They challenge the prevailing view that labor market regulations affect only the distribution of labor incomes and have little or no impact on efficiency or the performance of labor markets. Using new micro-evidence, this volume shows that labor regulations reduce labor market turnover rates and flexibility, promote inequality, and discriminate against marginal workers.

Along with in-depth studies of Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Jamaica, and Trinidad, Law and Employment provides comparative analysis of Latin American economies against a range of European countries and the United States. The book breaks new ground by quantifying not only the cost of regulation in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in the OECD, but also the broader impact of this regulation.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0226322823
• ISBN 13: 9780226322827
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 475