No AccessPolicy Research Working Papers18 Nov 2013Effects of Colombia's Social Protection System on Workers' Choice between Formal and Informal EmploymentAuthors/Editors: Adriana Camacho, Emily Conover, Alejandro HoyosAdriana Camacho, Emily Conover, Alejandro Hoyoshttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-6564SectionsAboutPDF (0.4 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract: This paper examines whether the Colombian government's expansion of social programs in the early 1990s, particularly the publicly provided health insurance, discouraged formal employment. Using household survey data and variation across municipalities in the onset of interviews for the SISBEN, the instrument used to identify beneficiaries for public health insurance, it shows robust and consistent estimates of an increase in informal employment of approximately 4 percentage points. Similar results are obtained using an alternative dataset, consisting of a panel of individuals interviewed for the first and second SISBEN. The findings suggest that marginal individuals optimized when deciding whether to participate in the formal sector. Previous bookNext book FiguresReferencesRecommendedDetailsCited ByThe Effects of Social Protection on Informal Employment: Evidence from Tunisia19 December 2020Income security during periods of ill health: a scoping review of policies, practice and coverage in low-income and middle-income countriesBMJ Global Health, Vol.5, No.615 June 2020Persistent commodity shocks and transitory crime effectsJournal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Vol.158The hidden costs of informal work: lack of social protection and subjective well-being in ColombiaInternational Journal of Public Health, Vol.62, No.229 August 2016Comparing the Incidence of Taxes and Social Spending in Brazil and the United StatesSSRN Electronic JournalIs Social Assistance Contributing to Higher Informality in Turkey?SSRN Electronic Journal View Published: August 2013 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsLatin America & CaribbeanRelated CountriesColombiaRelated TopicsMacroeconomics and Economic GrowthSocial Development KeywordsSOCIAL PROTECTIONINCENTIVESINFORMAL SECTORHEALTH INSURANCESOCIAL PROTECTIONCOLOMBIA PDF DownloadLoading ...