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Essays On Informal Labor Markets, Javier Cano Urbina

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis consists of three related papers. The first paper examines whether informal sector jobs are a source of training for young less-educated workers. Controlling for worker and job characteristics, it is found that in the early years of workers' careers in Mexico, wage growth in the informal sector is higher than in the formal sector. This result is consistent with general human capital investment on-the-job if the informal labor market is more competitive than the formal labor market due to frictions generated by labor regulations. These results motivate a deeper analysis of the informal labor market which is presented …