Measuring the Informal Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean

April 1, 2008

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Guillermo Javier Vuletin. Measuring the Informal Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2008) accessed December 19, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

This paper estimates the size of the informal economy for 32 mainly Latin American and Caribbean countries in the early 2000s. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we find that a stringent tax system and regulatory environment, higher inflation, and dominance of the agriculture sector are key factors in determining the size of the informal economy. The results also confirm that a higher degree of informality reduces labor unionization, the number of contributors to social security schemes, and enrollment rates in education.

Subject: Agricultural sector, Currencies, Informal economy, Labor, Tax incidence

Keywords: Informal economy share, Tax burden, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

29
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2008/102
Stock No:

WPIEA2008102
ISBN:

9781451869637
ISSN:

1018-5941

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