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Acknowledgements

Since I started to write the first lines of this paper I knew that this was something

impossible to carry out without the help of my family and friends. I want to thank my

mother, Inés, for her unconditional support during all this process as my “research

assistant” in Colombia. Her love and tenderness has been an inexhaustible source of

inspiration in many difficult moments of my life. Special thanks to my friends, José

Ramón Ortegon and John Wilson Buitrago for their unselfish help in providing me

valuable information for some of the statistical analyses presented in this paper.

I am greatly indebted to Niek de Jong, whose advice and valuable inputs helped me in

devising some of the technical foundations of this paper. I want to thank also the valuable

comments on previous versions of this document that I received from Cristobal Kay, my

second reader, Jeffrey Powell, Claudius Preville and Rob Vos. However, I remain

entirely responsible for all shortcomings this paper may have.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to Eric Ross, my supervisor, for his guidance,

genuine friendship and solidarity during all this process. I am proud to has been one of

his students.

I am equally grateful to all people at the Institute of Social Studies who, in one way or

another, made this experience one of the most constructive and enjoyable stages of my

life. Thanks to all of you! Finally, I want to acknowledge the Dutch government for

granting me the fellowship to pursue studies in the Netherlands.

iii

Acronyms

CCB: Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá

IMF: International Monetary Fund

SAP: Structural Adjustment Policies

SHD: Secretaría de Hacienda del Distrito

iv

List of Tables

Table 2.1: Structural Adjustment and Stabilization Policies of the Washington Consensus* ............................................................................................................... 15

Table 3.1: Employment Participation by Economic Activities, Percentage of Informal Employment and GDP Structure of Bogotá, 1998.................................................... 23

Table 3.2: Occupied Population by Economic Activities in Formal and Informal Activities, Bogotá, 1990-2000 – Thousands of People............................................. 30

Table 4.1: Number of Years of Educational Attainment, Population +12 years, Bogotá, 1990-2000 ................................................................................................................. 33

Table 4.2: Occupational Category of the Last Job among Unemployed Population in Bogotá, 1990-2000 – Thousands of people............................................................... 36

Table 4.3: Female and Male Occupation Rates by Age Groups, Bogotá, 1990-2000...... 37 Table 4.4: Incorporation of Women in the Labor Force, Bogotá, 1990-2000 .................. 38 Table 4.5: Occupied Population by Economic Activities in Formal and Informal Sectors,

Bogotá, 1990-2000 –thousands of people................................................................. 41 Table 4.6: Occupied Population by Sex and Occupational Categories, Bogotá, 1990-2000

................................................................................................................................... 42 Table 5.1: Earnings Equation Estimates by Sex and Formal and Informal Sectors in the

Labor Market of Bogotá, 1990-2000 – Ordinary Least Squares.............................. 50 Table 5.2: Decomposition of Gender Salaries/Earnings Gap in the Informal Sector,

Bogotá, 1990-2000.................................................................................................... 52 Table 5.3: Decomposition of Salaries/Earnings Gap between Formal and Informal

Workers, Bogotá, 1990-2000.................................................................................... 53

v

List of Figures

Figure 1.1: Labor Market Structure in Bogotá, September 1999 ....................................... 4

Figure 3.1: Population Pyramids of Bogotá, 1964 and 2000............................................ 22

Figure 3.2: GDP Growth Rates, Bogotá and Colombia, 1980-2000 ................................ 28

Figure 3.3: Unemployment and Occupation Rates, Bogotá, 1990-2000 .......................... 29

Figure 4.1: Global Participation Rate of Female Population, Bogotá, 1990-2000 ........... 32

Figure 4.2: Female and Male Unemployment Rates, Bogotá, 1990-2000........................ 34

Figure 4.3: Average Years of Education of the Occupied Population by Sex and

Economic Sector, Bogotá, 1990-2000 .............................................................................. 44

Figure 5.1: Mean Incomes per Hour in Constant Values of June 2000 by Sexes, Bogotá,

1990-2000 ......................................................................................................................... 48

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Abstract

In 1990, Colombia started an intense process of structural adjustment policies, which

included most of the recommendations of the Washington Consensus. Economic and

institutional modernization, internationalization of the economy, flexibilization of the

labor market and incorporation of private enterprises for the provision of social security

services were the main objectives of this political agenda. Looking at the particular case

of Bogotá, this paper surveys how the situation of female informal workers has changed

after ten years of structural reforms in Colombia. It argues the case of Bogotá provides

evidence in line with the hypothesis that, following the logic of keeping wages low and

ensuring a flexible labor force that can be hired in peak periods and fired in slow ones,

the increasing informal employment is inherent to the current global economic

restructuring. Through the analysis of earnings functions and decomposition of income

differentials, the author concludes that the situation of female informal workers was

disproportionately worsened after ten years of structural reforms in Colombia, given that

they are subjects of a double exploitation, first, as an oppressed sex and, second, as a

disguised proletariat.

vii

Table of contents

CHAPTER 1: WOMEN WORKERS IN BOGOTÁ’S INFORMAL SECTOR: GENDERED IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT POLICIES –SAP- IN THE 1990S................................1

1.0 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................1 1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY..............................................................................................................4 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.................................................................................................................5 1.4 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES .........................................................................................................................5 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................6

1.5.1 Main question: ..............................................................................................................................6 1.5.2 Secondary questions:.....................................................................................................................6

1.6 METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES OF DATA............................................................................................6 1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY .............................................................................................7

1.7.1 Geographical scope .......................................................................................................................7 1.7.2 Temporal scope .............................................................................................................................7 1.7.3. Methodological and theoretical limits..........................................................................................8

1.8. ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH PAPER .......................................................................................9

CHAPTER 2: ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK.......................................................................................10

2.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................10 2.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS OF THE INFORMAL SECTOR .............................................................10 2.2 THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT.................................................................13 2.3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS OF GENDER ANALYSIS IN RELATION TO WOMEN WORKERS AND STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT.....................................................................................................................17 2.4 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................19

CHAPTER 3: STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT POLICIES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR BOGOTÁ’S ECONOMY AND ITS INFORMAL SECTOR ..................................................................21

3.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................21 3.1 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF BOGOTÁ ................................................................................21 3.2 STABILIZATION AND SAP IN THE 1990’S ..........................................................................................23 3.3 STABILIZATION POLICIES, STRUCTURAL REFORMS AND EMPLOYMENT IN BOGOTÁ: 1990-2000.26 3.4 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................30

CHAPTER 4: THE LABOR MARKET OF BOGOTÁ BEFORE AND AFTER THE REFORMS ...31

4.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................31 4.1 LABOR PARTICIPATION AND STRUCTURE OF BOGOTÁ’S LABOR FORCE, 1990 - 2000 ...................31 4.2 UNEMPLOYMENT................................................................................................................................34 4.3 OCCUPATION AND EMPLOYMENT GENERATION IN BOGOTÁ’S LABOR MARKET ...........................37 4.4 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................45

CHAPTER 5: SALARIES/EARNINGS FUNCTIONS AND INCOME DIFFERENTIALS IN THE LABOR MARKET OF BOGOTÁ .............................................................................................................47

5.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................47 5.1 MEAN INCOMES BEFORE AND AFTER SAP ........................................................................................47 5.2 EARNINGS FUNCTIONS IN BOGOTÁ’S LABOR MARKET....................................................................49 5.3 DECOMPOSITION OF INCOME DIFFERENTIALS: TWO PERSPECTIVES ON THE SITUATION OF INFORMAL WOMEN WORKERS IN BOGOTÁ............................................................................................51 5.4 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................54

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................56

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................59 STATISTICAL APPENDIX...........................................................................................................................67

1

Chapter 1: Women Workers in Bogotá’s Informal Sector: Gendered Impact of Structural Adjustment Policies –SAP- in the 1990s

1.0 Introduction

In 1990, following some recommendations of the World Bank1, Colombia started an

intense process of structural reforms initially focused on trade and financial liberalization.

This set of policies, known as “La Apertura Económica”, was the beginning of a wider

agenda of structural adjustment policies –hereafter: SAP– known in the literature as the

“Washington Consensus” (see Williamson, 1990; 1993; Gore, 2000; van der Hoeven,

2000). The main objectives of this political package were economic and institutional

modernization and internationalization of the Colombian economy in which the export

sector was the engine of economic growth (Pineda and Ayala, 1993). In fact, La Apertura

was conceived in Colombia on the assumption that economic growth would automatically

improve living conditions for the whole population (World Bank, 1994: 28-51) as stated

in the trickle down approach.

While foreign trade and investment have gained importance in the Colombian

economy and private companies have found business opportunities in new sectors, the

benefits and costs of structural reforms has been unevenly distributed among population

groups. For instance, despite that the gross domestic product per capita has increased

during most of the 1990s, there is a larger proportion of Colombian families in poverty

and the participation of poor sectors in the national wealth is smaller (Leibovich et al,

1999; Ocampo, et al 1998; Sanchez et al 1999, and Velez, et al 1999). In the same vein,

the labor market has experienced dramatic changes as a result of the structural reforms:

slowdown of employment generation in the economic sectors with more exchange in

international markets, this is, industry and agriculture; expulsion of unskilled workers

with scarce creation of new jobs for skilled workers and, deterioration of income

distribution among urban households (Ocampo, et al 2001). In Bogotá, the capital of

Colombia, the unemployment rate has reached the highest historical level, the generation

2

of new jobs is stagnated even in periods of economic growth and, the proportion of

workers in the informal sector is increasing. One of the striking characteristics in this

process is that the majority of unemployed people in Bogotá are women, despite that the

men’s participation in the labor force is higher (CCB, 2000-a).

After more than two decades of structural reforms in developing countries, there is

generalized consensus that the poor tend to suffer more than the better off during the

process (Messkoub, 1992: 186.). Some authors point out that short-term stabilization

measures are often in evident conflict with long-term development goals, causing severe

enough hardships in disadvantaged groups to invalidate the process (i.e., see Sparr, 1994:

20. and Commonwealth Expert Group on Women and Structural Adjustment, 1990: 4.).

In addition, research in developing countries indicates that women tend to be

disproportionately affected in the processes of structural reforms, especially those that

work in the informal economy (see, for example, Sparr, 1994; Geisler et al, 1995; Afshar

et al, 1994). Furthermore, Marxist and feminist theorists point out that women in the

informal sector are subject to two forms of exploitation: firstly, as a disguised proletariat

and, secondly, as a subordinated sex (Wilson, 1998-a: 120-139).

In an attempt to contribute to an understanding of gender differences under structural

adjustment, this paper analyzes the changes in the situation of women workers in the

labor market of Bogotá. Although structural adjustment may affect women in multiple

ways, the attention of this research is concentrated on those changes related to the scope

of the labor market among women engaged in informal activities. For this purpose, it will

look at how female work participation has changed between 1990 and 2000 and how

these changes have taken place in terms of income gender differentials, unemployment

and concentration of female work across occupational and economic activities.

1.1 Research problem

The process of structural reforms in Colombia provoked significant changes in

Bogotá’s economy and its labor market during the 1990s. Some of the reforms include

trade liberalization, “flexibilization” in the labor market, privatization of public

1 These recommendations were presented by the World Bank (1989) in the paper: “Colombia: Commercial Policy Survey 1983-1987”.

3

enterprises and social security reforms. These changes have had a paramount importance

in the conditions of the city’s labor market and people’s livelihoods. As case in point, the

unemployment rate of the city2 (19.3% in September of 1999) reached its highest

historical level at the end of the decade (Henao, et al 1999: 5), which is a level regarded

also as one of the highest among Latin American cities. In addition, employment in the

informal sector has shown sharp increases during the recessive periods of the city’s

economy (CCB, 2000).

Feminist and neo-Marxist critics have pointed out that women in general, and those

working in informal activities in particular, suffer in a disproportionate way the impact of

stabilization and SAP (see section 2.3 for a detailed discussion). The situation in Bogotá’s

labor market tends to confirm this criticism. On the one hand, the strong increase in the

unemployment rate during the 1990s shows that the majority of unemployed people in

Bogotá are women, despite the fact that the men’s participation in the labor force is

higher (see Figure 1). On the other hand, informal employment in Bogotá is likely to

increase inversely in respect to the business cycle of the city, while the participation of

women in informal activities has increased between 1992 and 1998 (CCB, 2000-a: 21-

23). This indicates that Bogotá’s informal sector not only absorbs unemployed people

when the formal sector is in recession but tends to employ increasing numbers of women.

By the same token, the “absorption role” of the informal sector in periods of economic

recession is clearly related to downward pressures in informal workers earnings: the per

capita income of informal workers in Colombia expands in economic booms and

contracts in recessive periods (Henao, et al 1999: 16).

Finally, there is also evidence that the “reconfiguration” of the labor market in

Colombia during the time of structural reforms has lead to an expulsion of workers with

low educational level while the employment for the most educated has increased in a very

small proportion. These changes have had adverse consequences for the income

distribution of urban households (Ocampo, et al 2001). Similarly, Vélez, et al (1999) has

found that the income gap between males and females in Colombia has grown in the first

half of the 1990s.

2 In the National Household Survey –DANE, unemployed are those who are 12 years old or more

4

Figure 1.1: Labor Market Structure in Bogotá, September 1999

1.2 Significance of the Study

A review of the existing literature about the informal sector in Bogotá hints that the

impact of structural adjustment from a gender perspective is an unexplored topic. It can

be said also that, in most of the reviewed papers about Bogotá’s labor market, analytical

considerations in terms of gender are scarce. For instance, the International Labor

Organization –ILO carried out an exhaustive research about the informal sector in

Bogotá3 but, surprisingly, the report does not include any specific gender consideration

and have tried to get a job during the previous three months to the survey (DANE, 1997: 33.). 3 The title of the report is “El Sector Informal Urbano en Bogotá: Una Perspectiva Multidisciplinaria” (in English: “The Informal Sector in Bogotá: a Multidisciplinary Perspective) which was elaborated by Carlos Maldonado and Montserrat Hurtado with the sponsorship of the ILO, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of Colombia and the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (in English: National Service of Learninship).

Source: DANE, National Household Surveys

Population under 121,415,451

Economically inactivePopulation1,689,729

Males: 56%Females:44%

Formal Sector50.4%


Informal Sector49.6%

Occupied Population2,670,943


Unemployed Population551,331

Economically ActivePopulation3,222,274

Population in Working Age4,912,003

Total Population6,327,454

5

despite the importance of female labor in this economic sector4. In this sense, this paper is

aimed to contribute in filling this gap, at least, from the labor market perspective.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

As indicated above, this research paper aims to contribute to a knowledge about the

impact of structural adjustment on women workers in the informal sector for the specific

case of Bogotá during the 1990s. In this sense, this research is intended to provide

statistical evidence about how structural adjustment has had unequal effects on men and

women workers.

1.4 Specific Objectives

Some of the specific objectives of this research are:

1.4.1. To assess the change in real incomes of men and women workers in Bogotá

before and after the implementation of SAP in Colombia, with especial attention to those

in informal activities.

1.4.2. To examine the extent of discrimination and its evolution in terms of income

differentials between men and women and between informal and formal workers, once

other variables such as educational level, tenure and years of potential working

experience are controlled for.

1.4.3. To identify the changes in female labor participation either as unemployed or

as workers by occupational categories, occupations, and economic sectors and between

formal and informal activities.

1.4.4 To show how the formal and informal sector are inter-linked in the face of

labor market responses to structural adjustment, for example, when the informal sector

plays an absorptive role in the down-side of the business cycle, taking into account the

differentiated effects on men and women.

4 According to the National Household Survey of DANE, women occupied 47 percent of jobs in the informal sector of Bogotá in June 1998.

6

1.5 Research Questions

1.5.1 Main question:

What has been the change in the situation of female workers in the informal sector of

Bogotá after ten years of SAP?

This question will be answered in terms of real incomes by gender and

formal/informal salaries/earnings differentials, labor participation rates, and employment

structure by occupational categories and economic activities. Comparisons of changes in

the situation of men workers within informal sector and women and men in the formal

economy will be required. The main question will be divided into several secondary

questions, which, in turn, represent different stages of the research.

1.5.2 Secondary questions:

• What differences are there in the situation of informal female workers before and

after the implementation of SAP?

• What was the outcome of the reforms in terms of employment generation and how

has changed the quality of employment in Bogotá before and after the reforms?

• How has the structure of employment and unemployment changed after the

reforms and how is this related to increases in informal employment?

• How much have income differentials changed in terms of gender and between

formal and informal workers and what is the extent of gender discrimination and

economic marginalization of informal activities?

1.6 Methodology and Sources of Data

The main source of information is the Encuesta Nacional de Hogares – the National

Household Survey- carried out quarterly by DANE (in English: National Administrative

Department of Statistics)5. This survey, undertaken in the largest cities of Colombia,

utilizes a multi-staged stratified sampling method in which around 8.000 households are

personally interviewed (DANE, 1997: 14.). Official figures about employment,

7

unemployment, income distribution and household conditions are derived from the results

of this survey. In addition, reports from different governmental and international

agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations and other institutions with

statistical compilations and fieldwork evidence are used to complement the author’s

statistical analyses. Some of these analyses draw in models developed by Adamchick and

Bedi (2001) –in the case of decomposition of income differentials and Mincer (1974) –in

the case of earnings functions.

1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study

The scope of the proposed research may be defined in four dimensions:

geographical, temporal, methodological and theoretical. Some of the underlying criteria

in the delimitation of the research project are briefly explained as follows.

1.7.1 Geographical scope

The decision to limit the geographical scope to Bogotá is in line with two

considerations. First, in assessing the gendered impact of SAP, differences in regional

conditions may increase the complexity of analysis, not only between rural and urban

areas but also among cities6. Thus, choosing Bogotá as a geographical unit of analysis

simplifies, to some extent, the analytical complexities of regional differences. Secondly,

statistical information and literature are more easily available in the case of Colombian

largest cities and particularly its capital. For instance, household surveys with added

emphasis on Bogotá’s informal sector are carried out every two years. These surveys

provide information desegregated by gender on more than 100 variables, which

constitutes a valuable source for statistic and econometric analyses.

1.7.2 Temporal scope

The period of reference is the 1990s, taking into account that La Apertura, the initial

set of SAP implemented in Colombia, was officially started in February 1990 (Pineda and

5 This survey war carried out quarterly until 1999. From 2000 onwards, the survey is performed monthly.

8

Ayala, 1993: xix). During this decade, Colombian economic policy started to follow and

implement the premises incorporated in the “Washington Consensus” (see section 2.1 for

a detailed definition).

1.7.3. Methodological and theoretical limits

Although a comprehensive analysis of gender inequalities and informal sector ought

to include fieldwork evidence, the proposed research will be written on the basis of

secondary sources and, therefore, collection of data outside the Netherlands is not

considered. This imposes restrictions in the kind of empirical evidence and analytical

perspective. Therefore, the approach will be based mainly on macro-economic

information from household surveys and regional and national accounts, although

evidence from fieldwork research available in reports and specialized journals will be

gathered and analyzed as well.

From a statistical point of view, the definition of informal sector to be used in this

research will be the one proposed by ILO: “the informal sector is defined as the set of

productive units in the form of households’ enterprises, non-constituted in society, which

work in small scale with rudimentary organization in which there is not distinction

between capital and work. The employment relations are based mainly in occasional

employment, personal and social relationships and not in legal contracts which

characterize formal enterprises” (1996: 3).

One restriction on the proposed research has to see with the kind of quantitative

analysis about the impact of structural adjustment on women workers: non-monetary

effects are excluded. This has been one of the most important elements of criticism from

feminist authors about neoclassical economics analyses in relation to structural

adjustment (see for instance Sparr, 1994:13-30; and Elson, 1991:172-5). In addition, it

must be mentioned that statistical (counterfactual) techniques for controlling the effects

of influential factors different that those of structural adjustment are not included in the

quantitative analysis of this paper. For example, the internal conflict in Colombia and the

6 For instance, Ocampo, Sánchez and Tovar (2000) have identified that the dynamics of income distribution, real wages and, poverty indicators between urban and rural areas in Colombia show different patterns during the period of structural reforms.

9

dismantling of drug cartels are some of the factors that might have an important influence

in the labor market of Bogotá and the business cycle of the city. The author explicitly

recognizes that further research is needed in these aspects.

1.8. Organization of the Research Paper

This paper consists of six chapters. The first one is the introduction and presents the

nature of the problem and the methodological aspects of the analysis. The second chapter

discusses the theoretical frameworks of structural adjustment, informal sector and gender

analysis and their interrelations. The third chapter reviews the process of structural

reforms in Colombia and their implications in Bogotá’s economy and its labor market.

The fourth chapter, with a deliberate emphasis on the situation of women in general and

those in informal activities in particular, examines the changes in labor force

participation, employment, and unemployment between 1990 and 2000. The fifth chapter

presents the statistical analysis of earning functions and income differentials between

male and female informal workers and between female formal and informal workers. The

sixth chapter concludes.

10

Chapter 2: Analytical framework

2.0 Introduction

This chapter reviews different theoretical perspectives and analytical frameworks on

structural adjustment and its impact on women, particularly in informal activities. Three

overlapped concepts are implicit in this analysis: gender, structural adjustment and, the

informal sector. Each one of the approaches to these three concepts provides not only

different explanations but also entails different policy recommendations. Although the

aim of this section is mainly descriptive, empirical evidence in subsequent chapters will

help to identify which of these approaches best explains the case of Bogotá, particularly

those pertaining to the conceptualization of informal sector and gendered effects of

structural adjustment on the labor market.

2.1 Theoretical Frameworks of the Informal Sector

The origins of the concept of the informal sector can be found in some of the earliest

discussions of marginality among Latin American intellectuals. According to Kay (1989),

the marginality school in Latin America had two major strands: dualist or integrationist,

and single system or class conflict. The former, rooted in the modernization paradigm,

defines marginality as “the lack of participation of individuals and groups in those

spheres in which […] they might be expected to participate” (Germani, 1980: 49 –quoted

by Kay, 1989: 92). However, the term was also used to identify those social groups left

outside of the modernization process (op cit.: 93). Dualist or integrationist saw in the

accelerated demographic growth or “demographic explosion”, in combination with

urbanization process and unprecedented rate of rural-urban migration, the main cause of

marginal developments and marginal employment in urban contexts (Op cit.: 89).

In turn, single system or class conflict theorists (i.e., Anibal Quijano and José Nun)

share a common Marxist perspective in their conceptualization of marginality. For them,

marginal groups constitute an active part of the social system rather than a relegated

sector, as conceived in the modernization paradigm. In this sense, Marxist concepts such

as “relative surplus labor” and “industrial reserve army of labor” are modified by these

11

authors at incorporating the particularities of capitalist development in dependent

countries (Op cit.: 100-1).

Actually, several theoretical approaches to the informal sector may be distinguished:

modernization theory, dependency theory, neoliberalism, Marxism and neo-Marxism, and

world-system theory (Wilson, 1998-b: 3). For the purposes of this paper, some of these

approaches are briefly described as follows.

In the Modernization theory, the economic system is conceived as dual in which the

informal sector is identified with “traditional” pre-capitalist or backward activities as

opposed to “modern” economic organizations. No linkages between formal and informal

activities are explicitly recognized in this theoretical view (Wilson, 1998-b: 4). According

to Moser (quoted by Wilson op cit.), it is expected that the traditional –informal- sector

will disappear as economic development progresses. In accordance to the modernist

perspective of marginality, the steep upsurge of informal/marginal employment activities

in Latin America emerges from the incapability of the modern sector to cope the

demographic trends that took place, particularly, in the post-war period.

The preeminence of demographic factors can be seen also in more recent theoretical

explanations of the informal sector, chiefly those rooted in the neoliberal ideology. This

is the case of Fernando de Soto’s works, in which the informal sector is regarded as the

result of massive rural-urban migration that took place in Latin America during the

twentieth century and the incapacity of the legal system to incorporate these flows of

population into the formal economy and society. In the face of a hostile system and

inadequate legislation in large urban centers, migrants had to find illegal ways to live,

trade, manufacture, transport, or even consume7 (de Soto, 1988: 8-12).

Informality, as understood in the neoliberal perspective, is a matter of opportunity

costs: people involved in informal activities “are better off when they violate the laws

than when they respect them” (de Soto, op cit.). Two aspects, clearly rooted in

institutional economics and recently incorporated into the agenda of SAP in Latin

7 According to de Soto (1988), “We can say that informal activities burgeon when the legal system imposes rules which exceed the socially accepted legal framework […] and when the state does not have sufficient coercive authority” (12).

12

America (see section 2.2) deserve special attention in the de Soto’s analytical framework:

property rights and transaction costs8. On the one hand, property rights are defined as an

obligatory condition to allow technological innovation: according to North (quoted by de

Soto, 1988), “the wave of major inventions in Europe began only when a system of

patents was established to protect intellectual property rights” (177). On the other hand,

transaction costs are regarded as a major bottleneck not only in the phenomena of

informality (as mentioned just above) but also in the deep origins of underdevelopment9.

Furthermore, institutional interventions in the labor market such as unionization of the

labor force in the formal sector, differences in the application of social security benefits,

and bureaucratic controls over formal enterprises, are regarded in the de Soto’s approach

as the causes that encourage potential formal firms to remain in the informality and large

enterprises to subcontract to them (Scott, 1994: 18)10.

In relation to the Latin American context, Neo-Marxists stress the importance of the

informal sector in the economic system as a whole, given that, in many cases, formal

enterprises subcontract directly or indirectly services with informal workers in order to

avoid the payment of labor benefits. According to Wilson (1998-a), “those who are

occupied in informal-sector activities are not part of a traditional sector divorced from the

modern sector as modernization theory suggests” (115)11. Similarly, neo-Marxist theorists

contend that unpaid family labor, as a strategy of lowering costs, subsidizes through

multiple inter-linkages the rest of the economy (Wilson, 1998-a: 114-5). One of the most

important elements in the Neo-Marxist analysis is the concept of inter-linkages between

formal and informal sectors. For instance, petty commodity producers in small enterprises

8 Transaction costs –a theoretical contribution of institutional economics (see North, 1990)- are at the core of the neoliberal approach about the informal sector widely exposed by Hernando de Soto (1989). Indeed, Williamson (op cit.) explicitly highlights the contribution of de Soto in constructing a “Washington Consensus” for Latin America (1329). 9 Thus, “the incapacity of societies in establishing an efficient accomplishment of contracts at low costs” is regarded as “the most important source of the historical stagnation as well as the contemporary underdevelopment that deprives the Third World” (translated from Spanish by the author –North, 1993: 76). 10 It must be noted that these policy recommendations are in line with the labor market reforms included in the Washington Consensus’ agenda (see section 2.2). 11 For instance, street vendors retail products manufactured by formal enterprises and even by transnational corporations and garbage pickers provide inputs consumed by large factories of paper and cardboard (Birkbeck, 1978: 1173-85).

13

are considered in the Neo-Marxist approach as disguised proletarians who are exploited

through devices such as subcontracting. These workers have no access to the benefits

enjoyed in the formal sector such as social security and minimum wage, but instead,

constitute a cheap and flexible source of labor for capitalist enterprises12.

In a similar manner, world-system theorists associate the increasing presence of the

informal employment as the result of current global economic restructuring. They

indicate that the informal sector is growing not only in the periphery but also in core

capitalist countries, “following a logic of keeping wages low and ensuring a flexible labor

force that can be hired in peak periods and fired in slow ones”. In this perspective,

“recasualization” is a process through which capitalist companies reduce their unionized

personnel and subcontract services with small external companies, where workers do not

receive the social benefits of unionized labor (Wilson, 1998-b: 10). According to

Friedman and Wolf, informal activities are not as ‘unorganized’ or ‘casual’ as they might

appear. On the contrary, small businesses are subcontracted by large, frequently

multinational corporations, which, in this way, are able to lower their costs of operation.

Informal businesses are usually beyond the reach of government regulation. They don’t

pay minimum wages and their labor is often self-exploited. Much of it is done by women

and children” (1982: 321).

Although world-system and neo-Marxists perspectives coincide in the view that the

informal economy do provide subsidies to the capitalist system as a whole, the former

regards capital accumulation as the main force to prompt informalization, while the latter

considers class struggle as the principal underlying dynamic of this phenomena (Wilson,

1998-b: 10).

2.2 Theoretical Aspects of Structural Adjustment

By definition, SAP include both, stabilization and structural adjustment.

Conventionally, “stabilization” is understood as a set of measures intended to reduce

“national expenditure to bring it in line with national income or output, usually following

12 Similarly, the informal sector provides indirect subsidies to formal enterprises, given that waged-labor force purchase goods and services produced in the informal economy for less that

14

external shocks”. In the same vein, structural adjustment is defined as a set of policies

supposed to increase national income or output, usually following external shocks

(Horton –et al, 1994: 1).

Theoretically, SAP is embodied in the neoliberal ideology known as the

“Washington Consensus”, a term coined by Williamson (1990) to describe the dominant

development approach propagated by the US Government, the IMF and the World Bank

from the 1980s to the present (Gore, 2000:789-90). According to Williamson (1993),

there is a kind of “universal convergence” around the practices of economic policy to be

carried out, especially, but not exclusively, in Latin American countries. These practices

are supposed to be endorsed across the political spectrum, given the “superior economic

performance of countries that establish and maintain outward-oriented market economies

subject to macroeconomic discipline” (Williamson, 1993: 1329-36). Moreover,

adjustment required the abandonment of state-led development blueprints –or

“dirigisme”, giving space to decentralized decision-making schemes and local social

engineering13. With reference to Latin America, the Washington Consensus compresses

ten specific policy guidelines, which are illustrated in the table 2.1.

Under stabilization and structural adjustment, one of the most important assumptions

is that the labor market is expected to behave in the manner of classical competitive

markets:

“As national expenditure falls there will be downward pressure on output prices if output

markets behave like classical competitive markets. This downward pressure on output prices will

lead to cutbacks in production, and hence in demand of labor. If the price of labor falls in response

to this reduced demand, then this reduction in cost will help to maintain the level of production. If

the price of labor falls sufficiently in relation to the original fall in output prices, under certain

conditions there need be not fall in total output at all” (Horton –et al., 1994: 3).

they would have to pay if these production has to be purchased as commodity prices in the market. Thus, production in the informal sector reduces pressure on wages (Wilson, 1998-b: 8-9). 13 This implies also a change in the conceptualisation of the state: SAP as well as the Washington Consensus are embodied in the “private interest” view of the state, which extends individualist assumptions of orthodox economic theory about market agents “to all those involved with the state”. This set of ideas is called also as “public choice school of economics” and “ economics of politics”. For an illustrative discussion about the role of the state and structural adjustment see Mackintosh (1992: 61-89).

15

Thus, under several assumptions, the role of the labor market during stabilization is

to ensure that reductions in national expenditures take place without inducing a

substantial reduction in national production. Likewise, the labor market is expected to

allow “temporary wage differentials” which encourage relocation of labor as intended by

SAP.

Policy initiative DescriptionFiscal discipline Budget deficits should be no more than about 2 percent of GDPPublic expenditure priorities Redirecting expenditure from politically sensitive areas, which typically receive more

resources.Tax reform Broadening the tax base and cutting marginal rates.Financial liberalization Abolition of preferential interest rates for privileged borrowers and achievement of a

moderately positive real exchange rate.Exchange rates Unified exchange rates -at least for trade transactions- and elimination of any kind of

preferential rates.Trade liberalization Elimination of quantitative trade restrictions; implementation of a uniform tariff range:

maximum 10 percent.Foreign direct investment Barriers impeding the entry of foreign firms should be abolished; foreign and domestic

firms should be allowed to compete on equal terms.Privatization State enterprises should be privatized”. In some cases, the problem of “poor public

sector performance” may be easily handled by restructuring instead of privatization.Deregulation Abolishing of government regulations that obstruct the entry of new firms and

competition; ensuring that any regulation must be justified only by safety,environmental protection, or supervision of financial institutions.

Property Rights Legal systems must provide secure property rights at low costs, making these rightsavailable to the informal sector.

Table 2.1: Structural Adjustment and Stabilization Policies of the Washington Consensus

Adapted from Williamson, 1993: 1329-1336p. For illustrative purposes, the author has interpreted some objectives.

According to advocates of the Washington Consensus (for instance see IDB, 1998:

139-62.), unemployment will rise and the cost of stabilization will be distributed more

unequally if labor market “rigidities” such as wage indexation prevent real wages from

falling enough to maintain production costs. This is the case when trade unions “care

more about the real wage of employed members than about the number of unemployed”

and the bargaining between the unions and firms leads to too high real wages which make

untenable employment and production (Horton –et al, 1994: 3-4). Therefore, labor

policies in the realm of the Washington Consensus should be aimed at four basic areas:

(1) flexibilization of contracting conditions, removing restrictions on par-time and

temporary contracts, (2) elimination of minimum wage legislation or establishing of a

reduced minimum wage for young workers, (3) unemployment protection mechanisms

16

financed mainly by employees themselves and (4) restructuring of pension systems under

a scheme of individual savings accounts (IDB, 1998: 139-40)14.

As recognized by some economists, the assumed paramount role given to the labor

market in the designing of SAP has serious theoretical flaws. As mentioned by Horton, et

al (1994), slight reflection should reveal how “severe and unrealistic” are the conditions

in which “the labor market is working well” – that is, like a classical competitive market

(3). In addition it must be taken into account that the labor market does not work in

isolation from other markets. Theoretically, unemployment, deterioration in income

inequality, and increases in poverty may also be the result of imperfectly competitive

product markets and aggregate demand feedback from real wages. In practice, the

supposed allocative role of labor market may be hampered, for example, when the credit

market is not playing its role (4-5). According to van der Hoeven (2000), the

interpretation of the labor market role implicit in the Washington Consensus entails also

some theoretical contradictions. On the one hand, real wages are not only a cost factor but

also an important determinant of aggregate demand, as is the case in developing countries

where the propensity to save is much smaller than in developed countries. Thus, wage

reductions, instead of leading to full employment, are more likely to bring long recessive

periods accompanied by unemployment. On the other hand, “the increased imports

caused by greater inequality (a wage-profit relationship in favor of profits) will put

renewed pressure on the balance of payments, necessitating a further spell of stabilization

policies” (van der Hoeven, 2000:4).

It is frequently argued that labor market institutions in developing countries benefit

only a small proportion of workers and that their very existence has adverse

consequences such as greater income inequality and restrictions on the creation of jobs in

the formal sector (IDB, 1998: 139-43). However, slow job creation in formal activities

cannot solely be attributed to “labor market rigidities” as maintained by defenders of

Washington Consensus policies. Lack of investment or demand, inaccessibility to diverse

markets, or general lack of development incentives are more likely to be the factors

which impedes a shift from backward to modern industries (van der Hoeven, 2000: 6). In

14 It must be noted that these policy recommendations are quite similar with those formulated by

17

addition, empirical evidence shows how some labor market institutions such as minimum

wages are related with more progressive income distributions (op cit.: 18-21).

2.3 Theoretical Frameworks of Gender Analysis in Relation to Women

Workers and Structural Adjustment

Recent theoretical debates among economists have recognized that SAP have a

differentiated effect on women. Edwards and Roberts (1994) indicate that women in the

labor force may be affected in three different ways. Firstly, SAP may affect women’s

participation as a result of temporary increases in unemployment. Secondly, since

structural adjustment affects sectorial output and women are more concentrated in some

sectors, there may be uneven employment responses in terms of gender. Lastly, trade

liberalization will be associated with reductions in the protection of workers (309-10).

Similarly, Collier (1994) argues that women face different constrains on their

economic activity than men due to four distinct processes. First, women may face

discrimination outside the household. Second, imitation of role models are usually gender

specific then, if some new economic opportunity is initially taken up by men, it may be

diffused over the male population by a mechanism that will not be equally transmitted

among the female population. Third, asymmetric rights and obligations inside the

household tend to be unequally distributed against women and daughters leading to a

“principal-agent” problem: the woman has little incentive to work well. Fourth and last,

the burden of reproduction, child bearing and breast feeding on women entails

discontinuities in their availability for labor. As a result, women become confined to a

range of economic activities in which such discontinuities are relatively unimportant

(Collier, 1994: 285-6).

Based on empirical evidence in developing countries, feminist theorists have pointed

out that women tend to suffer disproportionately the impact of SAP, due to male bias in

three overlapping aspects: sexual division of labor, unpaid domestic work, and household

relations. In designing SAP, it is assumed that changes in relative returns between

tradable to non-tradable goods will serve to reallocate labor to labor-intensive export

Fernando de Soto (see section 2.1).

18

activities, assuming also that female labor is plentifully available. Usually, female work

participation takes place in labor-intensive activities such as assembling factories.

However, the assumption of labor mobility does not take into consideration the sexual

division of labor and that when women join paid work in factories, they have also to cope

with most of the housework (Elson, 1991: 165-187). At the same time, all this happens

when the state provision of social services, many of them complementary to female

housework, is being reduced thereby creating additional pressure on women15.

As producers, women have increased their participation in the labor force,

particularly in agriculture, manufacturing and informal activities. However, women tend

to earn less than men do and their economic contribution is under-recorded by official

statistics. Retrenchment in public and private enterprises during structural reforms has

meant falls in household incomes, which, in turn, has not only pushed more women to

seek employment outside the home, but also has deprived them of the best opportunities

offered in the labor market. Moreover, many women have lost their jobs in the private

formal sector during economic recessions that are frequently induced by macroeconomic

stabilization processes. There is some evidence that, partly as a result of discrimination,

women encounter more difficulties in getting another job in the formal sector, which

again represents additional pressure to drive them into informal activities

(Commonwealth Expert Group on Women and Structural Adjustment, 1990: 6). Indeed,

research in Latin America about women’s urban employment has shown strong evidence

of gender inequalities expressed in a high concentration of women in informal activities

compared with men, extensive gender segregation in both formal and informal sectors

and, significant differentials between male and female incomes (MacEwen Scott, 1994:

13-34).

Gender differences have also been ignored in a great part of the existing literature

about the informal sector (MacEwen Scott, 1994:13-34) and policy discussions about

poverty (Kabber, 1996:11-21). Nevertheless, some neo-Marxist theorists (see section 2.1)

15 For instance, the elimination of government assistance in the form of food subsidies and health care at public facilities may increase the burden of women at the household: women have to increase they efforts to maintain the nutrition of their families and the nursing of their sick (Messkoub, 1992: 189-98).

19

explicitly address these concerns in their conceptualization of the informal sector. For

instance, Wilson (1998-a) indicates that women’s occupations in the informal sector face

a double exploitation. On the one hand, the are an integral part of a “marginal mass” of

workers which do not have access to social protection and labor guarantees. Thus, female

labor subsidizes the formal sector. On the other hand, they are exploited as a subordinated

sex given the set of prevalent gender ideologies, which condition the position of women

in both, the labor market and the society (105-119).

The neo-Marxist perspective suggests that women subsidize the rest of the economy

in multiple ways. For instance, they may be working for their husband’s informal

enterprise as unremunerated family workers, where prevailing gender ideologies regard

this kind of work as “help” but not as an essential contribution to the productive process

(Birkbeck, 1978: 1173-1185). In the case of female-headed households, women are more

likely to be working in informal enterprises, but, again, given the prevailing gender

ideologies, they have fewer opportunities to establish the contacts required in initiating a

successful business. Moreover, women who attempt to set up a new microenterprise (i.e.,

sewing workshop or street vending stalls) are in a disadvantaged position by their lesser

access to capital and to the skills needed for trading (Lycette and White, 1988: 41-9).

2.4 Conclusions

The Washington Consensus constitute a set of policies intended to diminish the

action of the state and increase the role of markets as the most efficient way in to allocate

resources. Among the different approaches to the informal sector, it is clear the

functionality and coincidence of the de Soto’s perspective with the set of policy

recommendations implicit in the Washington Consensus: defense of property rights,

dismantling of labor market institutions and, elimination of bureaucratic controls over

formal enterprises.

In contrast, the neo-Marxist and the world-system perspectives about informal sector

not only suggest that informal activities play an active role in the economic system but

that they are a functional part of capitalism. These two perspectives also recognize the

marginal condition of informal workers, especially those engaged as unpaid family

workers and the subsidizing contribution of women. Thus, gender concerns appears to be

20

clearer in the neo-Marxist and world-system perspectives in the conceptualization of the

informal sector than in the case of the neoliberal approach or even, in the modernization

theory.

For the purpose of this paper, the neo-Marxist framework provides the principal

hypothesis for the situation of female workers in informal activities, this is that they are

subjects of a double exploitation, first, as an oppressed sex and, second, as a disguised

proletariat. In addition, the world-system perspective provides a subsidiary hypothesis:

following a logic of keeping wages low and ensuring a flexible labor force that can be

hired in peak periods and fired in slow ones, the increasing presence of the informal

employment is inherent to the current global economic restructuring. Therefore,

subsequent chapters will survey the validity of these two hypotheses before and after

stabilization and SAP in the labor market of Bogotá.

21

Chapter 3: Structural Adjustment Policies and Implications for

Bogotá’s Economy and its Informal Sector

3.0 Introduction

This chapter provides a brief description of the demographic, social, political and

economic aspects of Bogotá. It also summarizes the set of stabilization and SAPs

implemented in Colombia during the 1990s and their impact on Bogotá’s economy and

its labor market. Moreover, it highlights how the national economic policy and economic

cycles are closely related with the city’s employment generation, the extent of informality

and the unemployment rate.

3.1 Economic and Social Aspects of Bogotá

Besides being the capital of Colombia, Bogotá is the main demographic, economic

and political center of the country. With a population of 6.4 million inhabitants in 2000,

Bogotá makes up 15.2 percent of the national population. According to official statistics,

the annual population growth rate of the city is estimated at 25.4 per thousand, of which

around one third (8.3 per thousand) results from internal migration16 (SHD, 1999-b: 21-

6). These figures, according to Gilbert, make Bogotá to be an “unusual Latin American

capital”, where its demographic growth persists in high rates and its population does not

eclipses the rests of the country as in the cases of Buenos Aires in Argentina and Lima in

Peru (1997: 1050).

The change in the demographic structure of the city during the last three decades

indicates that its population, although still growing at high rates, is progressively getting

older. People over 65 years old represented, in 2000, 5.8 percent of the total while this

group constituted, in 1964, less than 3.9 percent of the city’s population. In the same

manner, people over 15 years old represent 73.3 percent of the total number of

inhabitants, compared to 57.9 percent in 1964 (see Figure 3.1).

16 According to Gilbert, large migratory flows in Bogotá began in the 1930s, which were substantially increased by the rural violence (1994: 2).

22

Demographic estimates for Bogotá suggest that there is a continuation of the trends

of the 1980s, that is, a reduction in birth rates and an improvement in life expectancy. On

the one hand, the total fertility rate of the city fell from 2.3 children per woman in the

first half of the 1990s to 2.2 in the second half of the decade and the dependency ratio fell

from 549 out of thousand in 1990 to 487 out of thousand in 2000. On the other hand, the

life expectancy at birth increased from 70.4 years in 1990-1995 to 71.8 years in 1996-

2000. Figures for the second half of the 1990s show a difference of 6.7 years between the

life expectancy of males and females: 68.5 among men compared to 75.2 among women.

This difference is explained, in the case of Bogotá, by the high incidence of violent

deaths among its male population (SHD, 1999-b: 21-6)17.

Figure 3.1: Population Pyramids of Bogotá, 1964 and 2000

Bogotá, as the largest urban economy in Colombia, contributed around 24 percent of

the country’s GDP in the 1990s. From an international perspective, the size of Bogotá’s

GDP (US$23.4 billion in 1997) is comparable with many Latin American national

economies. For instance, if Bogotá were considered a country it would be the sixtieth

largest economy in the World, larger than economies of Uruguay, Ecuador or Paraguay

and any of the Central American and Caribbean countries (SHD, 1999-a: 22-3).

17 In 1998, there were 35.575 violent deaths in Bogotá from which 86.4 percent occurred among men. This is a common problem in most of the largest cities in Colombia, which is regarded as the third most violent country in the world (SHD, 1999-b: 93).

1964

-9% -7% -5% -3% -1% 1% 3% 5% 7% 9%

0-4

15-19

30-34

45-49

60-64

75-79

Men Women

2000

-6% -4% -2% 0% 2% 4% 6%

0-4

10-14

20-24

30-34

40-44

50-54

60-64

70-74

80+

Men Women

Source: Gutierrez, et al (2000) and Author’s calculations based on Household Surveys from DANE

23

According to official figures in 1998, Bogotá’s economy relies basically on the

tertiary sector, which accounts almost two-thirds of its gross domestic product and a

similar proportion of its employment. This is explained by two factors. First, Bogotá is

the seat of the national and provincial governments, their ministries and institutes. The

political pre-eminence of Bogotá in the national context makes it much more practical for

national and transnational corporations to establish their headquarters in this city.

Secondly, Bogotá hosts a huge variety of commercial, transport and personal services,

which satisfy the necessities of its population, as well as the rest of the country. The

majority of jobs in these activities originate in the informal sector (see section 3.4).

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector represents only 18.1 percent of Bogotá’s output and

20.1 percent of its employment (see table 3.1), even though the city is considered the

main industrial center of the country (CCB, 2000-c: 10). Most of Bogotá’s industrial

production is intended to satisfy the Colombian market, while the proportion of

manufactured goods that are exported to other countries is only around 8.1 percent (CCB,

2000-c: 22).

Table 3.1: Employment Participation by Economic Activities, Percentage of Informal Employment and GDP Structure of Bogotá, 1998

Source: SHD, 1999-b: 23. and Author’s calculations based on Household Surveys (DANE, Colombia).

3.2 Stabilization and SAP in the 1990’s

Like other Latin American countries, the Colombian government has embarked

during the 1990s on the implementation of the political and economic package of the

Washington Consensus (described in section 2.1). This process of structural reforms,

which was known in Colombia under the name of “La Apertura”, was started at the end

Economic activities % employment % informal employment GDP

Industry 20.1 45.5 18.1

Construction 5.7 60.6 5.5

Trade, hotels and restaurants 23.4 69.1 9.5

Transport and communications 7.1 50.2 7.7

Financial and real state services 10.1 32.1 20.5

Communal, social and governmental services 31.8 43.5 35.9

Other activities 1.8 18.2 2.8

Total 100 49.7 100

24

of the Barco administration (1986-1990) and received its greatest support during the

Gaviria administration (1990-1994). With some variations, the Samper administration

(1994-1998) intensified the reforms and the government of President Pastrana (1998-

2002) continues them. These reforms were accompanied not only by the growth of the

public sector, which constitutes an important difference with processes in other Latin

America countries, but also by structural changes in the functioning of the state. In the

background of the reforms, there has been a reconfiguration in the role of the public

sector since the Constitutional Reform promulgated in 1991 (Ocampo, et al., 2001: 3-7).

This process had three main components: (1) liberalization of foreign transactions, (2)

redefinition of state functions and (3) labor and social security reform.

The liberalization of foreign transactions, which was implemented during the Gaviria

Administration, had two basic elements: import liberalization and signing of trade

agreements with other countries. The former included the elimination of direct controls

on imports and a reduction in the average duty tax from 44% to 12%. The latter

incorporated two regional trade agreements, one with the Andean Countries and the other

with Chile and Mexico, in addition to the initiation of negotiations with Mercosur

(Echavarría and Gamboa, 2000: 15-6). These reforms were complemented by a

liberalization of foreign capitals, which included a total elimination of restrictions on

direct foreign investments and multilateral agreements for mutual protection of

investments from/in other countries (Pineda and Ayala, 1993: 222-38). In addition, the

Foreign Exchange Reform of 1991 authorized private intermediaries to perform currency

exchange operations without prior control from the Central Bank (Op cit.: 155-81). Later

reforms allowed private agents to contract loans with foreign banks and progressively

eliminated taxes imposed on this type of financial operations (Ocampo, et al, 2000: 55-6).

The second component of SAP in Colombia, the restructuring of the state, had its

inception in the Constitutional Reform of 1991. This reform mandated a progressive

increase of transfers from the central government to regions and municipalities in order to

finance more social investment and social security. According to Ocampo, et al, this is a

peculiarity of the Colombian case in the implementation of SAP during the 1990s.

Consequently, the size of the state grew from 30 percent of the GDP in 1990 to 38

percent in 2000. The fast expansion of public expenditure was compensated through more

25

tax incomes, payroll contributions for social security and municipal taxes. In fact, the

change in the government revenue structure originated in the process of trade

liberalization, which reduced government incomes from duty taxes, was compensated by

six tax reforms between 1990 and 2000. At the same time, the consolidated fiscal deficit

rose from zero in 1990 to 5.2 percent of the GDP in 1999 given the increasing

expenditures on debt service, defense, justice and, social investment (2000: 56-8).

Among the main increases in government expenditure derived from the

constitutional reform were the transfers to regions and municipalities and the extension of

social security coverage. At the same time, the increase in the size of the state was

accompanied by changes in three of its structural components: fiscal decentralization,

opening of state-managed sectors to private competition and financial reform. In the first

component, municipalities’ and social security expenditures experienced the highest

growth in the public sector spending. In the second one, the most important components

were privatization of public enterprises, concession contracts with private agents for the

building of public infrastructure and, authorization of private companies to collect and

administer public funds for the provision of social security services. In the third

component, some of the most influential reforms were the privatization of banking

institutions –formerly nationalized by the government– and the implementation of new

legislation to encourage competition among financial intermediaries, in addition to a

constitutional reform which gave full autonomy to the Colombian central bank (op cit.).

The third component of SAP in Colombia was labor and social security reform. The

labor reform was aimed at removing restrictions on labor contracts for temporary

employment, facilitating the dismissal of workers after ten years of tenure, relaxation of

norms regarding collective dismissals and, elimination of labor benefits for high-income

workers18 (Pineda and Ayala, 1993: 220-2). All of this was complemented by the creation

of a new labor regime for employees hired after 1990, which modified the former

legislation on retirement benefits. Before the reform, the worker was entitled to receive

one month of salary per each year of tenure at the moment of retirement. The new law

(Ley 50, 1990) mandated a new system that established a compulsory saving of one

26

month of salary, which has to be deposited in one of the private financial institutions

created for this purpose (Ocampo, et al 2000: 57).

In turn, the social security reform paved the way for private companies to collect and

administer payroll contributions for health and pensions19, which were previously had

come solely under the administration of the Instituto de Seguros Sociales (Institute of

Social Security). With the social security reform, the coverage of health services was

extended to workers’ families and the pension system was divided in two kinds of

systems, one of mutual contributions and another with individual accounts in private

financial institutions (Salud Colombia, 1999).

3.3 Stabilization Policies, Structural Reforms and Employment in Bogotá: 1990-

2000

The economic policy of the Gaviria Administration (1990-1994) was initially

dominated by a strong package of stabilization policies, which included monetary

contraction, revaluation of the Colombian peso and reduction of government expenses.

This set of policies, designed to slowdown aggregate demand and inflation, induced a

reduction in the economic growth of the country between 1990 and 1991 (Ocampo, et al:

57). Subsequently, the monetary and foreign exchange policies, in combination with the

financial liberalization reform, encouraged a credit boom and an unprecedented

expansion of internal and external debt between 1993 and 1994 (op cit.). In this period,

aggregate demand recorded the strongest expansion in Colombian history, especially for

non-traded goods such as real state and some imported goods.

During this period, Bogotá’s GDP experienced in a more pronounced way the ups

and downs of the national economy than in the previous decade. The economic slowdown

of 1990-1992 leaded to a contraction in the city’s production while the “credit boom” in

1993-1994 brought growth rates much higher than the rest of the country (see Figure 3.2).

Unemployment also reached the lowest historical levels during these years and the

occupation rates showed significant increases (see Figure 3.3) as a result of massive

18 High-income workers, according to the Colombian labor legislation, are those who earn more than ten minimum salaries.

27

employment generation in trade, government, social and communal services, and

manufacturing. According to Gilbert, much of the fall of unemployment rates in Bogotá

during the first half of the 1990s has little to do with structural reforms in the sense that it

was mainly the consequence of a boom in the labor-intensive construction industry:

building activity increased dramatically as a tax amnesty encouraged Colombians to bring

their capital back to the country and as drug monies were channeled into real state (1997:

1057). Hence, Bogotá’s employment generation took place mainly in activities related to

non-traded sectors, that is, services and construction and those manufacturing branches

that provide supplies for the building industry (CCB, 1996:12).

During the subsequent Samper Administration, monetary policy turned to restrictive

measures on liquidity and foreign credit operations, which, in turn, induced a progressive

slowdown of aggregate demand vis-à-vis reductions in GDP growth between 1995 and

1996. These measures were complemented, in 1997 and, particularly, in 1998, with

restraining measures on government spending. However, efforts to minimize the fiscal

deficit were insufficient in these years, given the decline in government revenues highly

sensitive to the business cycle such as income taxes and retail taxes. The fiscal situation

was further aggravated in 1997 with the international financial crisis, which exacerbated

government difficulties to compensate its budget deficits with external credit. In turn, the

Colombian central bank decided to confront the external turmoil with a new package of

stabilization policies that included devaluation of the real exchange rate and an increase

of interest rates by more than 70 percent in real terms. As a result, the external accounts

improved and the inflation was reduced, though, at the expense of the worst recession in

the country’s history (Ocampo ET al, 2000: 59).

Meanwhile, Bogotá’s GDP growth plummeted in 1995 with some recovery in 1996,

although to much lower level than the records of 1993 and 1994. The city’s

unemployment rate rose in this period, starting its increasing trend until the end of the

decade. Even, the economic growth of the city achieved in 1997 (2.9 percent) failed to

decrease the number of unemployed. While Colombian GDP grew just 0.6 in 1998, the

19 With the social security reform (Ley 100, 1993), these contributions were increased from 13.5 percent to 25.5 percent of the payroll.

28

latest available figures for Bogotá indicate that the city’s product decreased 0.6 percent in

the same year.

The employment generation in Bogotá during the Samper years was propelled by

tertiary activities, mainly government and personal services while industry and

construction recorded contractions in the number of jobs. From the total number of new

jobs in this period (161,000), almost 44 percent were originated in informal activities.

Consequently, the percentage of occupied people in the informal sector decreased from

50.1 percent in 1994 to 49.7 percent in 1998 (see table 3.2).

In 1998 and 1999, the economic recession and excessively high interest rates

charged by the financial system compounded a massive accumulation of receivable

accounts in most of the banking corporations. In turn, the administration of the recently

elected President Pastrana launched a “rescue package” for financial institutions,

including a new tax on financial transactions and huge monetary transfers to banks in

crisis, which created additional pressures on the fiscal situation of the country in 1998

and 1999. Moreover, this administration signed an agreement of structural and

stabilization reforms with the IMF in which the Colombian authorities committed

themselves to bring down the combined public sector deficit and adopted a monetary

policy framework based on inflation targeting (see text of the agreement in Portugal and

Junguito, 1999).

Figure 3.2: GDP Growth Rates, Bogotá and Colombia, 1980-2000

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

BogotaColombia

Source: Secretaría de Hacienda del Distrito and Banco de la República

29

In this period, (1998-2000) Bogotá fell into a deep economic recession, characterized

by an unparalleled increase in unemployment (see Figure 3.3). According to preliminary

figures for 1998, the city’s GDP contracted 0.6 percent, while the national GDP grew

only 0.6 percent. Taking into account national trends and employment figures, it is likely

that economic recession in Bogotá intensified during 1999 (CCB, 2000-b). Although

Colombia’s GDP growth in 2000 is estimated around 2.9 percent, unemployment in

Bogotá as well as other Colombian cities did not fall below 20 percent. It must be noted

also that, in 1999 and 2000, the occupation rate fell to the lowest level in the last ten

years (see Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3: Unemployment and Occupation Rates, Bogotá, 1990-2000

Between 1998 and 2000, the number of jobs in the formal sector of Bogotá was

reduced in 14.6 percent, being services, manufacturing and trade the activities with the

sharpest reductions. In the same period, the number of jobs in informal activities,

especially those related to trade and personal services, rose 16 percent. Therefore, in the

face of increasing unemployment and decreasing incomes (as it will be shown in the next

chapter), the percentage of occupied people in informal activities rose from 49.7 percent

in 1998 to 57.3 percent in 2000 (see table 3.2).

46.0

48.0

50.0

52.0

54.0

56.0

58.0

60.0

62.0

I-90

III I-91

III I-92

III I-93

III I-94

III I-95

III I-96

III I-97

III I-98

III I-99

III I-00

III

ocup

atio

n ra

te %

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

unem

ploy

men

t rat

e %ocupation rate

unemployment rate

Source: National Household Surveys - Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística -DANE

30

3.4 Conclusions

Between 1990 and 2000, Colombia implemented most of the structural reforms

included in the political economy agenda of the Washington Consensus. However, the

results, in terms of economic growth, employment generation and unemployment, after

ten years of reforms, do not resemble those of the “superior economic performance”

claimed by Williamson (see section 2.1). On the contrary, economic growth has become

much more volatile than in the 1980s, employment generation in the formal sector has

stagnated and unemployment recorded historical highs in Bogotá.

Important economic activities in Bogotá’s formal economy, such as manufacturing,

construction and trade, provide a smaller number of jobs if figures for occupied

population between 1990 and 2000 are compared. Meanwhile, in the face of growing

unemployment and scarce formal job opportunities, the percentage of occupied

population in informal activities increased from 46.1 percent in 1990 to 57.3 percent in

2000, reaching the highest number of informal workers since official statistics were

compiled for this purpose. This is in line with the subsidiary hypothesis formulated in

section 2.4, which indicates that the increasing presence of the informal employment is

inherent to the current global economic restructuring.

Table 3.2: Occupied Population by Economic Activities in Formal and Informal Activities, Bogotá, 1990-2000 – Thousands of People

Source: Author’s calculations from Household Surveys (DANE, Colombia).

1990 1994 1998 2000Economic Activity INFORMAL FORMAL INFORMAL FORMAL INFORMAL FORMAL INFORMAL FORMAL

Non classified 0 0 1 1 4 6 0 2Agriculture 11 17 9 14 4 11 10 12Mining 1 11 3 10 0 10 5 7Manufacturing 186 275 232 327 235 282 250 214Electricity, gas and water 0 8 1 5 1 12 8 9Construction 74 58 107 80 88 57 71 43Trade, restau. And hotels 285 171 404 166 416 186 507 147Transport and communic. 52 67 88 80 92 91 114 95Financial and real state 33 146 63 176 84 177 68 183Government, social andpersonal services

251 292 301 345 355 462 451 392

Table Total 894 1045 1209 1204 1279 1294 1484 1105

31

Chapter 4: The Labor Market of Bogotá Before and After the

Reforms20

4.0 Introduction

This chapter discusses in more detail the changes in Bogotá labor market showed in

section 3.4. With a deliberate emphasis on the situation of women in general and those in

informal activities in particular, it examines the changes in labor force participation,

employment, and unemployment between 1990 and 2000.

4.1 Labor Participation and Structure of Bogotá’s Labor Force, 1990 - 2000

The global participation rate, which is the percentage of the economically active

population in the working-age population (more than 12 years old), increased from 61.9

percent in June 1990 to 64.8 percent in June 2000. In numbers, it means that Bogotá labor

force increased at an annual rate of 4.2 percent during this period.

As mentioned in section 3.1, one third of the city’s annual population growth is

explained by migration, mainly from other regions of Colombia. Thus, migration flows

play an important role in the increase of the working-age population and, indirectly, in

the economically active population. In fact, around 47 percent of the increase in the labor

force (1.107 million people) between 1990 and 2000 where migrants. By sexes, migration

explains 55 percent of the increase in the economically active male population and 41

percent of the increase in the economically active female population21.

20All figures in this section constitute the data analysis results obtained by the author from micro-level data files of the National Household Survey carried out by the National Administrative Department of Statistics in Colombia –in Spanish: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística –DANE, Colombia. The statistical packages used for this purpose were SPSS 9.0 and Intercooled Stata 7.0. 21 It is important to observe that these percentages may be lower, taking into account that household surveys in Colombia do not provide information about emigrants.

32

As in the rest of Latin America22, one the most striking changes in Bogotá’s labor

force between 1990 and 2000 was the increasing participation of women: their global

participation rate rose from 49.2 percent in 1990 to 56.7 percent in 200023. In contrast,

male participation dropped from 79.6 to 74.4 percent during the same period.

All female age groups recorded increases in participation rates between 1990 and

2000 (see Figure 4.1), among which women in the group from 30 to 39 years recorded

the largest increase. Another significant change was the rise in labor force participation

among the youngest women (from 12 to 19 years), whose rate (26.9 percent) is slightly

above that recorded by men (26.2 percent) in the same age group24.

Figure 4.1: Global Participation Rate of Female Population, Bogotá, 1990-2000

All categories of family relationship with the household head increased their labor

force participation among women. From them, wives are the family members with the

22 For an extensive discussion about the participation of women in the labor force in Latin America see León (2000). 23 According to Farné (1994: 161), the increasing female labor participation in Bogotá is the result of four fundamental causes: “declining fecundity, improved levels of education, increasing-long term wage-levels and the development of modern professions which have created more kinds of work which match the social role given to women” (quoted from Gilbert, 1997: 1062). 24 These trends are consistent with the analysis elaborated by González de la Rocha in the case of Mexico where he found that “in order to avoid drastic reduction in food consumption, households have sent more members to the job market; more youths, women, and children have entered the work force in order to earn the income needed for the survival of the group, the domestic unit (1990: 118. –Quoted by Gilbert, 1997: 1051).

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

12 thru 19 20 thru 29 30 thru 39 40 thru 49 50 thru 59 60 thru 64 65 and more

age groups

1990199419982000

Source: Author's calculations based on Household Surveys from DANE, Colombia

33

largest increase in labor force participation, from 47.1 percent in 1990 to 57.4 percent in

2000. Similarly, married daughters, the category with the highest historical female

participation, increased their rate from 68.3 to 77.7 percent in equal period. Female

household heads also increased their global participation rate from 65.2 to 67.2 percent.

These increments in labor force participation among married women may be regarded, in

part, as a response to the declining presence in the labor market of male household heads,

who reduced their global participation rate from 91.6 in 1990 to 86 percent in 2000.

Women in Bogotá’s labor force, besides increasing their labor force participation

rate, improved their educational attainment between 1990 and 2000, recording even

slightly higher averages of years of education than those reported by economically active

male population25. However, the educational attainment among males in the working-age

population remains higher (see Table 4.1). This may suggest some kind of selection bias

where women need to be comparatively better educated than men if they want to join the

labor force26.

Table 4.1: Number of Years of Educational Attainment, Population +12 years, Bogotá, 1990-2000

Source: Author’s calculations based on Household Surveys (DANE, Colombia)

The following two sections analyze in detail the evolution of occupation and

unemployment in Bogotá’s labor market, the two components that constitute the

economically active population27.

25 This is congruent with the argument of Farné -Op Cit. 26 According to de Suremain, “the greater degree of selection in the case of women [in the Colombian labor market] is probably related to the fact that the range of employment opportunities open to them is more limited than for men” (1993:217). 27 Economically Active Population = Occupied Population + Unemployed Population.

1990 1994 1998 2000Working-agepopulation

Laborforce

Working-agepopulation

Laborforce


Laborforce


Laborforce

Men 8.4 8.8 8.6 9.1 9.6 10.1 9.2 9.8Women 8.0 9.0 8.3 9.5 9.1 10.2 9.0 9.9Total 8.2 8.9 8.5 9.2 9.3 10.2 9.1 9.9

34

4.2 Unemployment28

Given the increasing economically active participation and insufficient employment

growth, male and female unemployment rates in Bogotá rose up to the highest records at

the end of the 1990s and 2000. Besides, unemployment in absolute and relative terms

continues being more intense among women: figures for all analyzed years indicate that

both the number and the rate of female unemployment are larger than for males. For

instance, in June 2000, Bogotá had 371,000 unemployed women, compared to 305,000

men, and the female unemployment rate was 1.4 times larger than the male rate was (see

Figure 4.2).

It is possible to distinguish two periods in the evolution of unemployment in Bogotá

between 1990 and 2000. In the first one (1990-1994), when the city’s unemployment fell

to its lowest historical level, female unemployment rates doubled those for men. In the

second (1998-2000), when unemployment for both sexes climbed to the highest historical

records, female unemployment rates reduced their difference in relation the male rates

(see Figure 4.2)29.

Figure 4.2: Female and Male Unemployment Rates, Bogotá, 1990-2000

28 The definition of unemployment used in this section is the same one used by DANE in the production of official statistics of unemployment in Colombia. Unemployed are (1) those who are more than 12 years old and were looking for a job in the previous week to the survey and (2) those who were without employment and had applied for a job in the three previous months to the survey (DANE, 1985: 41.).

6.6%5.0%

12.3%

17.6%

14.7%

11.2%

17.6%

24.2%

1990 1994 1998 2000

men women

Source: Author's calculations based on Household Surveys from DANE, Colombia

35

The loss of job by the household head may be one of the reasons behind the

increasing labor force participation of women: the unemployment rate among male

household heads rose from 3.4 percent in 1990 to 11.3 percent in 2000. In the same way,

the number of households where their male head is unemployed rose from 27,000 in 1990

to 121,000 in 2000, an increase of 342 percent.

One of the changes in the unemployment structure among women in Bogotá is that

single daughters, whose unemployment rate rose from 24.6 percent in 1990 to 39.3

percent in 2000, no longer, constitute the most numerous jobless group in the city. In

June 2000, 38.6 percent of female unemployment was accounted by spouses of household

head, while single daughters occupied, for the first time in the analyzed period, the

second position with 36.4 percent of the total unemployed women.

Figures for all analyzed years indicate that people with secondary education of both

sexes now constitute the majority of jobless in Bogotá. For instance, in June 2000, they

represented 56.4 percent of the unemployed population of the city. This educational

group has also the largest unemployment differences in terms of gender: in June 2000,

27.9 percent of women with secondary education were unemployed, while this figure was

just 19.4 percent among men with same educational degree. Women with university

education also reported a strong increase in their unemployment rate, from 11.6 percent

in 1990 to 22.3 percent in 2000, while unemployment among men rose from 5.8 to 16.6

percent in the same period.

In contrast, those least qualified not only have had the lowest unemployment rates

but also the smallest differences in terms of gender: 18.3 percent of women with primary

or no education and 15.4 percent of men in the same educational category were jobless in

June 2000. Both figures fell below the total unemployment rate for the city, which, at that

time, was in 20.7 percent. However, as indicated by figures in the next section, people

with low educational background are more likely to be working in informal activities.

This may well indicate that they cannot afford to stay unemployed but instead they have

to join the informal sector (Gilbert, 1997:1057).

29 The role of SAP and stabilisation policies in Bogotá’s business cycle and labor market is discussed in sections 3.3 and 3.4.

36

The layoff of workers constitutes the main force behind the strong increase in

Bogotá’s unemployment between 1990 and 2000, even with more influence than the

demographic growth of the working-age population. People fired from their job increased

their participation in the city’s unemployment from 73.3 percent in 1990 to 81.8 percent

in 2000 (see table 4.2). Moreover, the majority of layoffs in Bogotá’s labor market came

from layoffs in the private sector: this category represents around 64 percent of the total

jobless in all analyzed years, not only in the total but also among males and females.

In turn, the number of unemployed people whose last job was in the government

grew 3.5 times between 1990 and 2000. In terms of gender, government layoffs between

1990 and 2000 were much more intense among men: the number of male unemployed

expelled from the government increased more than five times while it was only doubled

among women (see table 4.2). As it will be shown in section 4.3, women became the

majority of government employees in Bogotá since 199830.

Table 4.2: Occupational Category of the Last Job among Unemployed Population in Bogotá, 1990-2000 – Thousands of people


Finally, Bogotá’s unemployment not only increased but also became much more

intense. On average, the time that unemployed people have been looking for a job rose

from of 31 weeks in 1990 to 48 weeks in 2000. In the first half of the 1990s, the time that

women used to search for job was below the average among men: 34 weeks for men

compared to 30 weeks for women in June 1990. This situation changed dramatically

against women after the second half of the decade. By June 2000, unemployed women

30 For instance, Menke (1998: 136-8) labelled a similar trend in Suriname as “feminisation of the public sector”.

Occupational category 1990 1994 1998 2000men women Tota

lmen women total men women total men Wome

ntotal

Family workers 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 4 1 0 1Private employee/worker 52 86 138 43 75 119 128 159 287 195 239 435Government workers 3 5 8 4 4 9 12 9 21 19 10 29Domestic servants 0 5 5 0 5 5 0 12 12 0 32 32Self-employed 4 3 7 5 3 8 11 8 19 27 23 50Managers or employers 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 4 3 7New entrants 20 38 58 21 38 59 42 59 101 59 64 123Table Total 81 137 218 75 127 202 196 250 446 305 371 676

37

recorded an average of 49 weeks searching for a job, one week more than the mean

among jobless men.

4.3 Occupation and Employment Generation in Bogotá’s Labor Market

The amazing expansion of female participation in Bogotá’s labor force contrasts

with the small increment in the percentage of working-age women who have a job: 42

percent in 1990 compared to 43 percent in 2000. This confirms what has been mentioned

above, that the increase in female labor participation was accompanied by increasing

female unemployment rates. Meanwhile, the occupation rate among men fell from 71.9 in

1990 to 61.3 percent in 2000. This indicates the gender gap in occupation rates narrowed

during this period although in a perverse way, taking into account that it was the result of

decreasing male occupation rates and almost no improvement in female occupation rates.

Between 1990 and 1998, female occupation rates increased in all age groups, except

among those under 20 years old. Conversely, female employment rates decreased for the

majority of age groups between 1998 and 2000, although these rates were still higher than

those observed in 1990. In turn, male occupation rates in all age groups decreased

between 1990 and 1998 and recorded further reductions in 2000 (see table 4.3).

Table 4.3: Female and Male Occupation Rates by Age Groups, Bogotá, 1990-2000


Despite the decrease in female occupation rates between 1998 and 2000, the

observed levels during the marriage and reproductive ages (25-45 years) are notably

higher than those, not only in Latin America, but also in developed countries such as The

Netherlands, United States and England. For instance, while The Netherlands has female

occupation rates for age groups between 25 and 45 years in the range of 22 to 43 percent

Age groups 1990 1994 1998 2000men women total men women total men women total Men women total

12 thru 19 22.9% 16.3% 19.3% 21.9% 14.6% 18.0% 19.7% 13.6% 16.5% 17.1% 13.8% 15.3%20 thru 29 82.5% 52.7% 66.0% 84.1% 54.9% 68.9% 72.0% 56.7% 63.7% 69.5% 51.5% 60.0%30 thru 39 95.0% 60.3% 76.2% 95.0% 65.8% 79.0% 91.0% 67.6% 77.8% 85.5% 64.7% 74.2%40 thru 49 93.5% 47.4% 69.5% 95.1% 58.3% 75.8% 90.1% 61.4% 73.9% 86.5% 60.2% 72.2%50 thru 59 84.9% 36.0% 59.0% 86.3% 36.8% 58.9% 79.4% 38.6% 58.0% 70.6% 39.7% 53.3%60 thru 64 57.9% 18.8% 35.5% 64.7% 14.7% 38.4% 53.1% 21.5% 36.6% 48.5% 19.2% 31.7%65 + 33.1% 7.4% 19.3% 30.4% 11.3% 19.6% 29.0% 7.9% 17.0% 24.0% 9.0% 16.4%Table Total 71.9% 42.0% 55.7% 71.5% 43.9% 56.7% 65.1% 45.6% 54.5% 61.3% 43.0% 51.4%

38

(León, 2000: 12-3), these rates in the case of Bogotá are all above 61 percent for the same

age brackets.

One relevant aspect of female participation in the labor market is the quality of the

jobs that they have. One of the ways to evaluate this is to see the number of jobs

generated by the formal and informal sectors. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of

jobs occupied by women increased by almost 372,000, of which 80.6 percent originated

in informal activities while the formal sector of the city’s economy contributed only 19.4

percent. Furthermore, just 8.3 percent of new female jobs generated between 1990 and

2000 had permanent contracts with formal companies (see table 4.4). It can be said,

therefore, that those women who got a job the labor market of Bogotá did it in very

difficult conditions, either as informal or as temporary workers.

Table 4.4: Incorporation of Women in the Labor Force, Bogotá, 1990-2000


The Labor Reform of 1990, which eliminated most of the restrictions on temporary

contracts and dismissal of workers, had an important impact in the quality of employment

generation in Bogotá, particularly in the formal sector31. Between 1990 and 2000, the

number of workers with permanent contracts in this sector fell by 5.7 percent, while the

number of temporary workers rose 79.6 percent. In absolute terms, the overall number of

jobs in the formal sector, ten years after the Labor Reform, was increased by only 5.7

percent. From these figures, two facts are clear: first, that formal enterprises in Bogotá are

expanding their temporary personnel at the expense of workers with permanent contracts

and, secondly, that the Labor Reform was unable of enhancing employment in the

Colombian capital. Moreover, the unparalleled increase in dismissals of workers

31 According to Forero and Medellín (1992), Gilbert (1997), Ocampo et al (2000) and Sarmiento (1991), the labor market reforms during the President Gaviria administration leaded to a clear deterioration in working conditions of the Colombian labor force.

Figures in thousands 1990 2000 Difference 2000 – 1990 % Column.New economic active women 929 1,535 606 100.0%Unemployed 137 371 234 38.6%Occupied 792 1,164 372 61.4%Formal 406 478 72 11.9% - permanent contract 350 381 31 5.1% - temporary contract 56 98 41 6.8%Informal 386 686 300 49.4%

39

illustrated in the previous section may represent an indication that the Labor Reform

induced more unstable conditions in the city’s employment during the 1990s.

The analysis of employment generation between 1990 and 2000 in the formal sector,

desegregated by men and women, reveals more amazing results. The number of jobs

occupied by women not only increased in temporary contracts, but also in permanent

contracts: the former increased 73.8 percent while the latter did so by 8.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the jobs occupied by men rose 83.5 percent in the case of temporary

contracts and decreased 14.8 percent in the case of permanent contracts. The reduction in

permanent employment was concentrated in jobs occupied by men and compounded the

dismissal of 82,000 male workers between 1990 and 2000.

One of the most striking aspects of the labor market in Bogotá during the 1990s is

the increase in the share of informal jobs in the city’s employment, which rose from 46.1

percent in 1990 to 57.3 percent in 2000. As mentioned above, the number of jobs created

by the formal sector grew only 5.7 percent, adding 60,000 positions in one decade. In the

absence of employment opportunities in the formal economy, more than half of million

people entered the informal sector of Bogotá between 1990 and 2000, which means that

the occupied population in marginal activities grew 65.9 percent in this period. Thus, the

informal sector has become the main source of livelihoods for both men and women: 56.0

and 58.9 percent respectively in June 2000.

The analysis by categories of family members shows that female household heads

are more likely to be working in the informal sector than their male counterparts. This is

to say that the percentage of informal women workers in this category has been larger. It

was only in 1994 when the proportion of female household heads in informal activities

was below the figure for males: 49.5 among women compared to 51.6 percent among

men. In contrast, figures between 1990 and 2000 indicate that an increasing proportion of

female household heads had to look in the informal economy for job opportunities: while

49 percent of female household heads were engaged in informal activities in 1990, this

figure rose to 61.2 percent in 2000.

Conversely, single daughters are the household members with the lowest

participation in informal activities (44.3 percent in 2000), not only among female family

members but also compared to male informality rates. Taking into account that this

40

category registered the highest unemployment rates in all analyzed periods, one possible

explanation is that single daughters prefer to remain unemployed instead of looking for a

job in the informal economy.

The gender division of labor reflects some of the differences in the incorporation of

men and women into different economic activities. According to figures in June 2000,

personal services are the most important activity of female employment, either in the

formal or in the informal sector. On the one hand, 41 percent of female employment in

the informal sector was concentrated in personal services, with four out of ten women

occupied as domestic servants. On the other hand, 44 percent of female employment in

the formal sector of Bogotá was concentrated in social, communal and personal services

where the Government provides almost half of these jobs.

The second activity of importance for female employment is trade, restaurants and

hotels. It represents 35 percent of the jobs occupied by women in the informal sector, half

of them as independent workers.

In turn, trade-related activities constitute 15 percent of the female employment in the

formal sector, where 9 out of 10 are waged workers in private enterprises. The third

activity of importance in female employment is manufacturing, which represents 16

percent of the jobs occupied by women in the informal sector and 20 percent of the jobs

in the formal sector. Around half of the informal women workers in manufacturing

activities are self-employed while 91 percent of those in the formal sector are waged

workers.

In contrast, the composition of male employment has been more diversified along

different economic activities both in formal and informal activities. According to figures

from June 2000, trade is the most important activity among male informal workers,

providing one third of the jobs, predominantly as self-employed. In turn, community,

social and personal services is the second most important activity in male formal

employment providing 29 percent of the jobs, although much lower than the equivalent

figure for women.

Transport is one good example of the gender division of labor in Bogotá: it

represents around 12 percent of the male employment in both, formal and informal

sectors. However, the participation of women is much lower: 2 percent in the informal

41

and 5 percent in the formal sector. This is explained by the fact that transport equipment

operators, the most prevalent occupation in this sector, is traditionally performed by

males. Construction is another activity where the gender division of labor is evident: men

occupy 91 percent of the workforce in the formal sector and 97 percent in the informal

sector32 (see table 4.5).

Table 4.5: Occupied Population by Economic Activities in Formal and Informal Sectors, Bogotá, 1990-2000 –thousands of people


Only two economic activities, trade and services, account for 71.6 percent of the

population that joined the informal sector in Bogotá between 1990 and 2000. In fact,

almost 80 percent of the new women workers in informal activities were engaged in these

two branches of the economy, while the proportion was 63.1 percent among men.

Manufacturing was the third most important economic activity among the new entrants to

the informal sector: 11.3 percent of the new informal men workers and 10.4 percent of

the new informal women workers joined this branch of the informal economy. Transport,

the fourth activity of importance among the new entrants of the informal sector,

participated with 17.7 percent of the new informal jobs among men and only 3.7 percent

among women (see table 4.5).

The structure of employment by occupational positions also shows important

changes as a consequence of the incursion of women into the labor market of Bogotá

between 1990 and 2000. In this period, the percentage of jobs occupied by women in the

total employment of the city increased from 41 to 45 percent. This change was

32 According to the author’s calculations from household surveys between 1990 and 2000, the slightly higher participation of women in the formal employment of transport and construction is

1990 2000FORMAL INFORMAL FORMAL INFORMAL

Economic activity men women men women men women men womenManufacturing 168 108 105 81 116 97 138 112Construction 51 7 72 1 40 4 68 2Trade, restaurants and hotels 100 71 165 119 75 73 264 243Transport 52 15 48 4 72 22 100 15Financial and real state services 90 56 20 13 118 65 37 31Community, social and personal services 155 137 86 166 182 210 170 281Other activities 23 14 11 2 23 7 22 2Table Total 639 406 508 386 626 478 798 686

42

particularly important in government employment, where women’s participation rose

from 42 percent of the jobs in 1990 to 53 percent in 2000. During the same period, there

was a reduction of 29,000 government jobs occupied by men in the government while

there was a creation of 16,000 jobs among women. This reflexes a direct effect of

government restructuring in which the overall employment of the state was reduced by

6.3 percent between 1990 and 2000 (see table 4.5). In addition, these figures suggest a

sort of restructuring in government employment, where women substitute some positions

previously occupied by men.

In the same vein, women also increased their participation in private waged

employment, from 39 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2000. Taking into account that

there was no substantial variation in the percentage of female informal jobs in this

occupational category, this change may be explained by movements of workers in private

formal enterprises: the percentage of female waged workers in the formal sector rose

from 39 to 43 percent between 1990 and 2000. Similarly, women occupied almost 99

percent of the new jobs (48,000) created by the formal sector in this occupational

category (see table 4.6).

Table 4.6: Occupied Population by Sex and Occupational Categories, Bogotá, 1990-2000


“Managers or employers” was another category in which women increased their

participation, from 20 percent in 1990 to 32 percent in 2000. This trend was present in

both in the formal and the informal sectors. In the former, women’s participation rose

explained by the fact that formal enterprises tend to have more administrative and clerical

Occupational categories 1990 2000 2000-1990men women men women men women

INFORMAL EMPLOYMENTfamily workers 13 21 9 27 -4 5private waged workers 182 118 318 200 135 82domestic servants 2 96 7 122 6 26self-employed 247 136 367 293 120 157managers or employers 64 15 98 44 33 28Table Total 508 386 798 686 290 300FORMAL EMPLOYMENTprivate waged workers 463 297 464 344 0 47government workers 119 87 90 103 -29 16self-employed 35 17 57 21 22 4managers or employers 22 6 16 11 -6 5Table Total 639 406 626 478 -13 72

43

from 22 to 40 percent of the managerial positions while in the latter it did so from 19 to

31 percent between 1990 and 2000. However, there is an important difference in the

incorporation of women as managers or employers between the informal and formal

sectors. In the latter, the numbers of workers in this occupational category grew among

men and women. In the informal sector, the number of female managers or employers

grew 75 percent while it decreased 29 percent among men. This hints at similar

restructuring trend to that observed in government employment where female workers for

male workers33.

The most important occupational category of in the entry of women in Bogotá’s

informal employment was self-employed: the number of female jobs in this category rose

from 35 percent in 1990 to 44 percent in 2000. However, women’s participation in formal

self-employment decreased from 32 to 27 percent in the same period. From a statistical

point of view, this is explained by the fact that the number of new male entrants in this

category was four times the number of female entrants (see table 4.6). Thus, it is possible

that more men decided to employ themselves as independent workers given that they

found it comparatively more difficult to get a job either in government or in the private

sector, as suggested by the figures in other occupational categories34.

The improvement in educational levels of the labor force mentioned in section 4.1

was evident also in the structure of employment: the occupation rate of people with

university education rose from 21 percent in 1990 to 28 percent in 2000. In a similar way,

women workers with university education increased their occupation rate from 22 to 29

percent, while this figure for men grew from 20 to 28 percent in the same period.

Conversely, those with primary or no education reduced their occupation rate from 29 to

22 percent among women and from 31 to 23 percent among men.

The average years of education confirms that Bogotá’s working population has

increased its educational level: the average years of education rose one year between

1990 and 2000 (up to 10 years in 2000). This increment was more pronounced among

personnel, where the participation of women is more frequent. 33 According to Gilbert, this is a long-term trend in the labor market of Bogotá, which he calls “feminisation of the Labor Force” (1997: 1061-2).

44

formal workers than informal workers: 1.6 years and 1.1 years, respectively. One possible

explanation of this difference in increments of educational attainment between the formal

and the informal sector is that the former recruited more educated people.

According to figures for June 2000, women in the formal sector, with 12.1 years of

education, are conspicuously more educated, not only with respect to their male

coworkers but also in relation to men and women in the informal sector (see Figure 4.3).

This pattern of educational achievement has been present in all observed years. As

indicated in section 4.1, women with low education have fewer possibilities to get a job

in the formal sector given the fact the occupations available for them in this segment of

the labor market are more limited than in the case of uneducated men (De Suremain,

1993:217).

Figure 4.3: Average Years of Education of the Occupied Population by Sex and Economic Sector, Bogotá, 1990-2000

Its is important to note that the average years of education are markedly lower

among informal workers, which, in fact, indicates that people with low education are

much more likely to be confined to marginal activities in the labor market of Bogotá.

This is particularly crucial in the case of women: 85 percent of women with primary or

34 Here it is important to take into account that the difference between formal and informal self-employment is that the former encompasses professionals and technicians, while the latter corresponds to non-skilled occupations.

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

10.0

11.0

12.0

13.0

1990 1994 1998 2000

men - formal women - formal men - informal women - informal

Source: Author's Calculations based on Household Surveys from DANE, Colombia

45

no education are informal workers, compared to 76 percent for men with the same

educational level. This suggests again that women have to demonstrate better educational

credentials than men in order to occupy a job in the labor market of Bogotá.

4.4 Conclusions

Continuing the trends of the 1980s, women have dramatically increased their

participation in the labor market of Bogotá, not only in the youngest age groups but also

among those in the reproductive stage of the life cycle. At the same time, women have

improved their educational levels, which are better than those recorded by men if

compared for the economically active population. However, this incorporation of women

into Bogotá’s labor market between 1990 and 2000 has taken place in precarious

conditions. On the one hand, female as well as male unemployment reached unparalleled

levels in absolute and relative terms, due to massive layoffs and scarce new labor

opportunities for the increasing economically active population. On the other hand, the

majority of those women who got a job did so in very difficult conditions, either in

informal activities or as temporary workers in the formal sector. The situation of male

workers also worsened: male occupation rates decreased in all age groups between 1990

and 2000. In fact, the figures suggest that some of the increasing participation of women

in the labor market has been pushed by the loss of jobs by male household heads.

Structural reforms had at least two measurable impacts on Bogotá’s labor market.

First, after ten years of the Labor Reform of 1990, there is a larger proportion of workers

with temporary contracts. This is known in the literature as “casualization” of

employment, a clear symptom of worsening conditions in the quality of employment (see

i.e., Friedman and Wolff, 1982; and van der Hoeven, 2000). Secondly, as a consequence

of stabilization programs and the restructuring of the state, retrenchment of government

employees became much more intense during the 1990s. The number of government

employees in 2000 is less than that estimated for Bogotá ten years earlier.

Figures for employment generation and unemployment suggest a reconfiguration of

their gender composition between 1990 and 2000. While the number of jobs occupied by

women in government and at the managerial level of the private formal sector rose during

this period, the number of jobs occupied by men fell in these segments of the labor

market. Taking into account that the total number of jobs did not increase either in the

46

government or in the managerial level of the private sector, this indicates a sort of

restructuring, where female workers have been replacing male workers. Moreover, the

number of male employees with permanent contracts decreased between 1990 and 2000,

while the number of female jobs with permanent contracts increased.

It is clear also that the informal sector became the main source of employment for

both, men and women. Most of women’s new jobs in the informal sector took place in

two economic activities, trade and personal services, in which the majority were self-

employed. Between 1990 and 2000, the gender structure of informal employment in

Bogotá did not show marked changes but women’s participation became less diversified

at the end of that period.

To sum up, the increasing informal employment among men and women, besides

deterioration in working conditions in the form of massive layoffs and casualization of

formal employment, provide further evidence in favor of our subsidiary hypothesis:

Following a logic of low wages and flexible labor contracts, the increasing presence of

informal employment is inherent to the current global economic restructuring.

47

Chapter 5: Salaries/earnings Functions and Income Differentials in

the Labor Market of Bogotá

5.0 Introduction

This chapter presents a statistical analysis of earning functions for men and women

in the formal and the informal sectors. In also attempts to evaluate two simultaneous

dimensions of the situation of women workers in informal activities: as an oppressed sex

and as a disguised proletariat. For this purpose, salaries/earnings differentials are

decomposed in order to assess the changes on gender discrimination in the informal

sector and economic marginalization of female informal activities after 10 years of SAP

in Bogotá35.

5.1 Mean Incomes before and after SAP

Reduction in real terms was the dominant characteristic of the evolution of mean

incomes in the labor market of Bogotá between 1990 and 2000: real wages/earnings per

hour fell from 1.9 to 1.4 US dollars between 1990 and 2000, which is equivalent to a

decrease of 26.2 percent –in constant values of June 2000. At the sector level, informal

workers’ incomes recorded a reduction of 38.0 percent while they decreased by 11.8

percent among formal workers. In terms of sex, men’s incomes decreased 27.7 percent

and women’s incomes fell 22.1 percent, which entailed a reduction in the gender income

differential: the mean income per hour of women, as a proportion of the mean income

among men, increased from 81 percent in 1990 to 88 percent in 2000.

For the specific concern of this research, informal women workers recorded not only

the lowest income level in all analyzed years but also the widest income differences with

the rest of Bogotá’s labor market. On the one hand, their mean incomes per hour reported

35 The results of this section come from a selection of cases in which the individual has the following characteristics: occupied persons with ages between 12 and 65 years, positive labor income, and a specified number of years of education. Cases with unspecified values were deleted in order to avoid distortion of results. This includes only incomes from labor: salaries in the case of waged employees, and earnings in the case of self-employed. Figures are expressed in constant values of June 2000 deflated by the Consumer Price Index in Bogotá calculated by DANE.

48

a reduction of 42 percent between 1990 and 2000, the largest if compared with their male

counterparts in the informal sector, and men and women in the formal sector (see Figure

5.1). On the other, their incomes, as a proportion of those earned by men in the informal

sector, decreased from 84 to 74 percent in the analyzed period. Their situation becomes

even more disadvantageous if compared to those women in the formal sector: while

informal women’s incomes in 1990 were equivalent to 85 percent of the female income

in the formal sector, this ratio decreased to only 49 percent in 2000.

In contrast, it must be highlighted that women in the formal sector reported a very

different story in terms of real incomes: their earnings/salaries increased by 2 percent

between 1990 and 2000 while their remuneration, as a proportion of the male income in

the formal sector, rose from 80 to 101 percent in the same period. Taking into account

what was said in section 4.3, it is fair to conclude that the incursion of those women who

got employment in Bogotá’s formal sector along the 1990s was successful not only by

their increased participation in the total number of jobs but also by their progress in terms

of gender income differentials.

Figure 5.1: Mean Incomes per Hour in Constant Values of June 2000 by Sexes, Bogotá, 1990-2000

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

5,500

6,000

1990 1994 1998 2000

FORMAL MEN FORMAL WOMEN INFORMALMEN INFORMAL WOMEN

49

5.2 Earnings Functions in Bogotá’s Labor Market

The decline in mean incomes per hour of female workers and the increase of their

salaries/earnings differential in relation to other groups may be analyzed through earning

functions. For this purpose, a set of four earning functions for men and women is

estimated in both the formal and informal sectors for 1990 and 2000. These functions are

expressed as follows:

Log Yi = β0 + β1EXi + β2EX2i + β3YEDi + β4MIGi + β5TENi (5.1)

Where Log Yi is the natural logarithm of hourly earnings of a workeri, β0 is the

intercept of base category –informal workers without education, non-migrants and with

less than five years of tenure in her/his last job-, EX is an approximation of professional

experience36, EX2 is squared estimate of professional experience, YED is the number of

years of education, MIG is a dummy variable for workers who migrated to Bogotá five

years ago or less, TEN is a dummy variable if the worker has more than 5 years of tenure

in his/her last job, and β1 to β5 are the coefficients to be estimated37.

The results38 obtained from equation 5.1 (see table 5.1) in the coefficient of YED

indicate that, between 1990 and 2000, the returns from education decreased for men and

women in the informal sector and men in the formal sector. Conversely, women in the

formal sector increased their education returns during the same period even up to a higher

level than that among men in the formal sector. It must be noted also that informal

women workers are the group with lowest returns from education in both 1990 and 2000.

Returns from additional years of professional experience for men in the informal

sector have been the highest among all evaluated groups either in 1990 or in 2000. In

addition, male formal workers are the only group that increased their returns from

additional years of professional experience during that period. On the contrary, women in

36 EX= age - years of education - 6 37 This analysis uses a variant of the earnings function model developed by Mincer (1973). Econometrically, the specification used in this paper may have some selection bias given that variables related to choice of job are not included in the model. This is a topic recently addressed in the specialised literature –see Heckman et al (1995)- and the author recognises that further research is needed in this regard. 38 See Statistical Appendix.

50

the informal sector reduced their returns from professional experience from 2 percent in

1990 to 1.2 percent in 2000. In the case of female and male informal workers the

coefficient of EX in equation 5.1 for June 2000 became statistically insignificant at the

5% level. This suggests that additional years of professional experience among informal

workers are no longer an advantage in terms of higher incomes as it was in 199039.

The coefficient of tenure –TEN- indicates that those in the formal sector of Bogotá

who had been working for five years or more in their last job have higher

salaries/earnings than workers with less occupancy and similar characteristics. The value

of this coefficient among formal workers grew between 1990 and 2000, which indicates

that people with more than five years of tenure have comparatively better incomes than

the rest of workers with similar characteristics. In contrast, the statistical significance of

the TEN coefficients suggests that tenure is not a relevant characteristic for women in the

informal sector in both of the years analyzed.

Table 5.1: Earnings Equation Estimates by Sex and Formal and Informal Sectors in the Labor Market of Bogotá, 1990-2000 – Ordinary Least Squares


The R squared values in different regressions indicate that the explanatory capacity

of the model is much lower among informal workers in general, and the lowest among

39 Which were especially relevant for male informal workers.

1990 2000Men Women Men Women

Coef. t-values Coef. t-values Coef. t-values Coef. t-valuesCoefficients - Formal workersEX 0.032 5.830 0.030 4.890 0.035 4.140 0.004 0.390EX2 0.000 -2.220 0.000 -1.750 0.000 -2.070 0.000 0.950YED 0.129 24.300 0.127 21.270 0.122 14.570 0.135 15.930MIG 0.052 1.010 0.127 1.970 0.144 1.270 -0.105 -1.40TEN 0.094 2.670 0.016 0.370 0.193 3.110 0.184 2.740Constant 6.134 72.500 6.086 63.450 5.908 41.410 6.071 44.030R-squared 0.381 0.345 0.341 0.420Number of observations 2207 1424 658 531Coefficients - Informal workersEX 0.020 2.990 0.023 2.980 0.012 1.390 0.010 1.060EX2 0.000 -1.030 0.000 -1.650 0.000 -0.300 0.000 -0.420YED 0.109 16.060 0.086 9.480 0.102 11.170 0.071 6.060MIG 0.102 1.320 0.129 1.930 -0.031 -0.440 0.049 0.460TEN 0.230 4.110 0.085 1.340 0.073 1.090 0.008 0.110Constant 6.378 61.200 6.432 52.210 6.195 43.820 6.445 35.100R-squared 0.175 0.111 0.169 0.079Number of observations 1,705 1,261 7,63 7,03

51

informal women workers in particular. This may be assumed to be an indication that

characteristics such as better education or professional experience in the determination of

income levels in the informal economy, especially among self-employed, are not

regarded as important as in the rest of Bogotá’s labor market, especially in the case of

women40. However, the model is still useful to see how the gender income gap in the

informal sector and the income gap between women in the formal and the informal sector

have changed in 1990 and 2000. This may also provide two “approximate” measures of

the situation of female informal workers, one of gender discrimination41 and another of

labor marginalization in the informal sector.

5.3 Decomposition of Income Differentials: Two Perspectives on the Situation of

Informal Women Workers in Bogotá

Introducing some modifications to the methodology developed by Adamchik and

Bedi (2001), the mean log earnings/salaries difference between males and females in the

informal sector of Bogotá is decomposed with the following function42:

lnWmi – lnWfi = Xmi β^mi – Xfi β^

fi (5.2)

Where lnWmi and lnWfi are mean log earnings, Xmi and Xfi represent the means of

observed characteristics and β^mi and β^

fi denote the estimated coefficients. According

Adamchik and Bedi (2001), this earnings/salaries difference may be decomposed at least

in three different methods. First, assuming that the male wage structure prevails in

absence of discrimination (method 1); second, assuming that the female wage structure

prevails (method 2) and; third, weighting the parameters obtained from the male and

female wage regressions (method 3). Formally, these methods are expressed

Method 1: lnWmi – lnWfi = ( Xmi – Xfi ) β^mi + (β^

mi + β^fi ) Xfi (5.3)

Method 2: lnWmi – lnWfi = ( Xmi – Xfi ) β^fi + (β^

mi + β^fi ) Xmi (5.4)

40 In addition, informal activities concentrate a larger proportion of self-employed workers, which further diminishes the explanatory capacity of the model among this segment of the labor market. 41 For a theoretical discussion about gender wage differentials and their interpretation in terms of discrimination see: Adamchik and Bedi (2001), Francine and Kahn (1996) and Oxaca and Ranson (1994). 42 It is important to note that Adamchik and Bedi (2000) limited their estimations to full-time wage workers.

52

Method 3: lnWmi – lnWfi =

( Xmi – Xfi ) [0.5 (β^mi + β^

fi ) ] + (β^mi + β^

fi )[0.5( Xmi – Xfi )] (5.5)

The proportion of the salaries/earnings gap explained by differences in observable

characteristics is represented by the first component on the right hand side of (5.3), (5.4),

and (5.5) while differences in returns to these characteristics are represented in the second

component. Although it may include the influence of gender differences in unobserved

characteristics on earnings, the proportion of salaries/earnings gap represented in the

second term may be assumed to be a measure of discrimination (Adamchik and Bedi,

2001:10).

The log income difference –gender income gap- between men and women in the

informal sector rose from 0.301 in 1990 to 0.334 in 2000, which results from the increase

in gender income differentials in the informal sector mentioned above. Decomposition

results indicate that the range of income gap that persists after controlling for differences

in observed characteristics rose from 66-79 percent to 95-99 percent in this period. Thus,

this may be assumed as an indication that gender discrimination against informal women

workers increased during this period and explains most of the gender income differences

in this section of Bogotá’s labor market43.

Table 5.2: Decomposition of Gender Salaries/Earnings Gap in the Informal Sector, Bogotá, 1990-2000


In order to evaluate how the marginal condition of female workers in the informal

sector has changed between 1990 and 2000, the log income differential between women

43 According to Adamchik and Bedi, “this term may exaggerate the extent of discrimination as it also includes the influence of gender unobserved characteristics on earnings” (2001)

Year/Method Mean LogWage Gap

% Differences in observablecharacteristics

% Discrimination %

19901. Male wage structure prevails 0.301 100 0.104 34 0.198 662. Female wage structure prevails 0.301 100 0.065 21 0.237 793. Weighting parameters of both 0.301 100 0.084 28 0.217 72

20001. Male wage structure prevails 0.334 100 0.016 5 0.319 952. Female wage structure prevails 0.334 100 0.004 1 0.330 993. Weighting parameters of both 0.334 100 0.010 3 0.324 97

53

in the formal and informal sector is decomposed with a methodology similar to the one

explained above44. The fraction of the salaries/earnings gap that persist after controlling

for observed characteristics may be assumed as an approximate measure of the

marginalization faced by informal women workers as a disguised proletariat (see

theoretical discussion of this concept in chapter 2)45.

The log income gap between formal and informal women workers rose from 0.790

in 1990 to 1.060 in 2000, given the increase of female incomes in the formal economy

and the decrease of female incomes in informal activities mentioned at the beginning of

this section. The decomposition results indicate that the unexplained portion of the

income gap between female formal and informal workers after controlling for differences

in observed characteristics rose from 55-61 percent in 1990 to 57-79 percent in 2000 (see

table 5.3). Therefore, this suggests that the salaries/earnings situation of women workers

in Bogotá’s informal sector has been further worsened by the increased marginalization

of their economic activities after ten years of SAP in Colombia.

Table 5.3: Decomposition of Salaries/Earnings Gap between Formal and Informal Workers, Bogotá, 1990-2000


As a final remark, the magnitude of the log income gap between male formal and

informal workers was smaller that in the case of women either in 1990 (0.497) or in 2000

(0.838). In addition, the proportion of the salaries/earnings gap between formal and

informal workers that can be interpreted as a measure of marginalization was smaller in

44 In this case, the means of observed characteristics of informal male workers -Xmi- and their estimated coefficients -β^

mi- are replaced in (5.3), (5.4) and (5.5) by those of formal female workers -Xff and β^

ff -, respectively. 45 This measure is merely indicative and the author recognises that further research is needed in this regard.

Year/Method Mean Log WageGap

% Differences inobservable

characteristics

% Differences dueto

Marginalization

%

1990

1. Female formal wage structure prevails 0.790 100 0.359 45 0.431 552. Female informal wage structure prevails 0.790 100 0.260 33 0.530 673. Weighting parameters of both 0.790 100 0.310 39 0.481 61

20001. Female formal wage structure prevails 1.060 100 0.461 43 0.599 572. Female informal wage structure prevails 1.060 100 0.227 21 0.833 793. Weighting parameters of both 1.060 100 0.344 32 0.716 68

54

the case of men in both 1990 and 2000 –although rose from 57-63 to 62-66 percent in this

period. This may be interpreted as an indication that being an informal worker is more

disadvantageous for women than for men in the labor market of Bogotá.

5.4 Conclusions

After ten years of stabilization and SAPs, real incomes in the labor market of Bogotá

decreased for both men and women. At the same time, the gender salaries/wage gap

decreased, although in a perverse way, given the fact that men’s salaries dropped faster

than women’s incomes. Figures by sex and economic sector indicate that men and

women in the informal sector and men in the formal sector are receiving lower incomes

per each worked hour if figures from 1990 and 2000 are compared. These figures do not

contradict the premise implicit in the subsidiary hypothesis (see section 2.4) that the

current economic restructuring, which in the case of Latin America is known as the

Washington Consensus, is guided by a logic of keeping wages low and ensuring flexible

labor force.

The neo-Marxist hypothesis that women in the informal sector are subject of a dual

exploitation, that is as an oppressed sex and as a disguised proletariat is, at least,

congruent with the level and evolution of mean incomes among different segments in

Bogotá’s labor market during the 1990s. In fact, female mean incomes in the informal

sector remained at the lowest level if compared not only with their male counterparts in

the informal sector but also in relation to both men and women in the formal economy.

Women workers in the informal sector also recorded the sharpest decrease in real

incomes between 1990 and 2000. Moreover, the portion of their income gap that may be

attributed to gender discrimination expanded between 1990 and 2000. The increase in the

proportion of the salaries/earnings differential between female formal and informal

workers that cannot be explained by differences in observed characteristics indicates that

women in this sector of the labor market are further marginalized by the informal

character of their activities.

In contrast, there is a different story for women in the formal sector: their mean real

salaries/earnings increased 2 percent between 1990 and 2000, which constitute the only

group to improve their incomes during the evaluated period. There are, at least, two

55

reasons behind this increase. First, female formal workers improved their returns from

education, which means that more educated women are receiving better salaries (see table

5.1). Second, the growing participation of women in the government and the managerial

level of the private sector, two segments of the labor market with better than average

salaries, has meant an increase in the mean income of female formal workers (see section

4.3).

56

Chapter 6: Conclusions

In the realm of the Washington Consensus, Colombia implemented most of the

structural reforms included in this political economy agenda after 1990 and continues

with them until the present days. However, the results for the Colombian capital in terms

of economic growth, employment generation and unemployment after ten years of

reforms do not resemble those of the “superior economic performance” claimed by

Williamson (see section 2.1). On the contrary, economic growth has become much more

volatile than in the 1980s, employment generation in the formal sector stagnated and

unemployment recorded historical highs in the case of Bogotá.

Bogotá’s labor market has also witnessed dramatic changes after ten years of

structural reforms. Since 1999, unemployment rates climbed to historical records in

Bogotá. As it was at the beginning of the 1990s, unemployment continues to be higher

among women in absolute and relative terms. Figures indicate that massive layoffs in the

private and public sectors and the incapacity of Bogotá’s economy in generating new

employment opportunities are the main underlying causes behind the upsurge in

joblessness rates. Unemployment not only increased but also became much more intense.

Actually, the time that women have to spend looking for job is much longer than it was

the past. In addition, the loss of jobs among male-headed households seems also to be

another reason to push more women to seek employment in Bogotá’s labor market, a fact

suggested by figures of unemployment rates, layoffs estimations and informality rates by

categories of family members.

Women have increased their active economic participation, although unparalleled

levels of unemployment and informality have accompanied this process. The employment

generation of the formal economy has practically stagnated and the quality of

employment worsened, as it is evidenced by the increasing proportion of temporary

contracts in the total number of jobs. Moreover, the state employment has been reduced

with a special component of restructuring where women replace male employees. A

57

similar trend was observed in the private formal sector where male workers, particularly,

at the managerial level were replaced by women.

The improvement in educational levels among female economically active

population has gone together with a selective recruiting process of the most educated

women in the formal sector of the economy. Meanwhile, women with low educational

background have been increasingly confined to marginal occupations, mainly, in the

informal economy. Unskilled women’s situation is even more disadvantageous by the

fact that the number of occupations available for them is much less than in the case of

unskilled men. Taking into account that the majority of the new female entrants in the

informal economy took place in only two economic activities (trade and services), the

female structure of informal employment became less diversified, in which self-

employment is the most prevalent occupational position.

The proportion of jobs in informal activities among the total employment of the

Colombian capital also recorded its highest historical level at the end of the analyzed

period. In the same vein, the proportion of informal jobs occupied by women is higher

than that among men. In addition, the composition of informal employment by

occupational categories at the end of the 1990s dismisses the de Soto’s characterization of

informal employment as one of micro-entrepreneurs (see section 2.1): instead, the

majority of informal workers are classified as self-employed. Besides, the increasing

difference of mean incomes between formal and informal sector, even after controlling

for some observable characteristics, suggests that people who join informal activities do

so pushed by increasing unemployment, declining household incomes and absence of job

opportunities in the formal economy.

As a positive finding it must be highlighted that women in the formal sector

improved their situation not only in terms of the number of jobs that they occupy but also

by the elimination of their income differentials in relation to men. In fact, figures for June

2000 indicate that the mean income of women in the formal sector is slightly higher than

that of men. Two factors favored the income situation of women workers in the formal

sector: first, that they improved their returns from additional years of education and,

58

second, that they enjoy more access to government and managerial positions in private

formal enterprises.

Meanwhile, incomes from labor activities plummeted for the rest of workers,

especially those of women in informal activities (-42 percent). In addition, the

salaries/earnings differential between men and women in the informal sector and women

in the formal and informal sectors, after controlling for differences in education,

professional experience and other relevant characteristics, expanded during the analyzed

period. This provides evidence in favor of the neo-Marxists hypothesis which claims that

women workers in informal activities are subject of two kinds of exploitation, first by

prevailing gender ideologies and secondly, by the marginal character of their informal

activities. Therefore, women workers in informal activities receive much lower incomes,

they are more disadvantaged by their female condition and the economic marginalization

of the activities that they perform is much more intense after ten years of structural

reforms.

Evidence in the case of Bogotá suggests that many of the fears about increasing

unemployment, informalization, and casualization of employment as a result of the

Washington Consensus policies are justified. However, the author recognizes that further

research is needed in several aspects. At the macro level, it is necessary to clarify what

have been the outcomes of economic restructuring, for example, in terms of poverty and

income inequality. Besides, it would be ideal to perform counterfactual analyses in order

to control for influences different than those of stabilization and structural adjustment. At

the micro level, there are several dimensions of the situation of women workers in

informal activities that remain unknown, given the limitations in the scope and resources

of this research. Fieldwork research could provide a better understanding about how

changes in the labor market as a result of structural adjustment influence the situation of

female informal workers in both inside and outside the household. Furthermore, it would

be desirable to carry out empirical research to contribute in the knowledge about the

subsidizing role of female informal workers to the rest of the economy, and the multiple

inter-linkages between the informal sector and the rest of the capitalist system.

59

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Statistical Appendix The following results were calculated with Intercooled STATA 7.0 for Windows 98/95/NT. Table A2-1: Survey linear regression male formal workers, Bogotá, 1990 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 2207 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 344 Population size = 609470 F( 5, 334) = 142.38 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.3814 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .0319466 .0054829 5.83 0.000 .0211618 .0427314 ex2 | -.0002421 .0001091 -2.22 0.027 -.0004567 -.0000274 years_ed | .1290799 .0053123 24.30 0.000 .1186305 .1395293 migrant | .0522425 .0517025 1.01 0.313 -.0494567 .1539416 tenure | .0942359 .0352748 2.67 0.008 .0248501 .1636217 _cons | 6.133879 .0846106 72.50 0.000 5.96745 6.300309 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table A2-2: Survey linear regression male informal workers, Bogotá, 1990 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 1705 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 325 Population size = 465837 F( 5, 315) = 58.61 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1754 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .0199825 .0066908 2.99 0.003 .0068189 .0331462 ex2 | -.0001346 .0001302 -1.03 0.302 -.0003908 .0001215 years_ed | .1086664 .0067672 16.06 0.000 .0953524 .1219803 migrant | .1016887 .0769844 1.32 0.187 -.0497726 .25315 tenure | .2299114 .0559817 4.11 0.000 .1197715 .3400514 _cons | 6.378229 .1042195 61.20 0.000 6.173185 6.583273 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table A2-3: Survey linear regression female formal workers, Bogotá, 1990 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 1424 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 334 Population size = 395258 F( 5, 324) = 127.30 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.3452 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .0301791 .0061672 4.89 0.000 .0180469 .0423114 ex2 | -.000221 .0001262 -1.75 0.081 -.0004693 .0000272 years_ed | .1269114 .0059665 21.27 0.000 .1151741 .1386487 migrant | .1265136 .0643205 1.97 0.050 -.0000191 .2530463 tenure | .0164775 .0441276 0.37 0.709 -.0703313 .1032863 _cons | 6.085866 .0959227 63.45 0.000 5.897165 6.274568 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Table A2-4: Survey linear regression female informal workers, Bogotá, 1990 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 1261 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 326 Population size = 353786 F( 5, 316) = 19.76 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1107 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .022593 .0075813 2.98 0.003 .0076775 .0375085 ex2 | -.0002412 .0001463 -1.65 0.100 -.0005289 .0000466 years_ed | .0864404 .0091197 9.48 0.000 .0684982 .1043826 migrant | .1294476 .067202 1.93 0.055 -.002766 .2616612 tenure | .0848695 .0632453 1.34 0.181 -.0395596 .2092985 _cons | 6.432011 .1231938 52.21 0.000 6.189639 6.674383 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table A2-5: Survey linear regression, male formal workers, Bogotá, 2000 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 658 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 217 Population size = 492494 F( 5, 207) = 55.04 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.3413 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .0347408 .0083837 4.14 0.000 .0182143 .0512673 ex2 | -.0003477 .0001676 -2.07 0.039 -.0006782 -.0000173 years_ed | .1223707 .008399 14.57 0.000 .105814 .1389273 migrant | .1438027 .1135609 1.27 0.207 -.0800566 .3676621 tenure | .1934291 .062277 3.11 0.002 .0706642 .3161939 _cons | 5.907578 .1426504 41.41 0.000 5.626375 6.188781 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table A2-6: Survey linear regression, male informal workers, Bogotá, 2000 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 763 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 210 Population size = 560041 F( 5, 200) = 29.45 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1694 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .0118452 .0085186 1.39 0.166 -.0049506 .0286409 ex2 | -.0000456 .0001509 -0.30 0.763 -.0003432 .000252 years_ed | .1022965 .0091569 11.17 0.000 .0842422 .1203508 migrant | -.0309267 .0699598 -0.44 0.659 -.1688637 .1070103 tenure | .0733873 .0673513 1.09 0.277 -.0594066 .2061813 _cons | 6.194755 .1413691 43.82 0.000 5.916023 6.473487 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Table A2-7: Survey linear regression, female formal workers, Bogotá, 2000 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 531 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 197 Population size = 404675 F( 5, 187) = 71.86 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.4204 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .0039378 .0100227 0.39 0.695 -.0158317 .0237073 ex2 | .000216 .0002272 0.95 0.343 -.0002321 .0006641 years_ed | .1351774 .0084869 15.93 0.000 .1184373 .1519176 migrant | -.1045275 .0744292 -1.40 0.162 -.2513363 .0422813 tenure | .1839409 .0670194 2.74 0.007 .0517477 .3161342 _cons | 6.070649 .1378779 44.03 0.000 5.79869 6.342608 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table A2-8: Survey linear regression, female informal workers, Bogotá, 2000 pweight: facexpan Number of obs = 703 Strata: estrato Number of strata = 6 PSU: psu Number of PSUs = 217 Population size = 517731 F( 5, 207) = 8.93 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0785 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ log_y | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- ex | .0101465 .0095844 1.06 0.291 -.008747 .0290399 ex2 | -.0000753 .0001798 -0.42 0.676 -.0004298 .0002792 years_ed | .0705956 .011654 6.06 0.000 .0476224 .0935688 migrant | .0486689 .1049716 0.46 0.643 -.1582586 .2555963 tenure | .0084609 .0762216 0.11 0.912 -.1417925 .1587144 _cons | 6.444676 .1836277 35.10 0.000 6.082696 6.806656 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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ARCHIVOS DE ECONOMIA No Título Autores Fecha 1 La coyuntura económica en Colombia y Venezuela Andrés Langebaek Octubre 1992 Patricia Delgado Fernando Mesa Parra 2 La tasa de cambio y el comercio colombo-venezolano Fernando Mesa Parra Noviembre 1992 Andrés Langebaek 3 ¿Las mayores exportaciones colombianas de café redujeron Carlos Esteban Posada Noviembre 1992 el precio externo? Andrés Langebaek 4 El déficit público: una perspectiva macroeconómica. Jorge Enrique Restrepo Noviembre 1992 Juan Pablo Zárate Carlos Esteban Posada 5 El costo de uso del capital en Colombia. Mauricio Olivera Diciembre 1992 6 Colombia y los flujos de capital privado a América Latina Andrés Langebaek Febrero 1993 7 Infraestructura física. “Clubs de convergencia” y crecimiento José Dario Uribe Febrero 1993 económico. 8 El costo de uso del capital: una nueva estimación (Revisión) Mauricio Olivera Marzo 1993 9 Dos modelos de transporte de carga por carretera. Carlos Esteban Posada Marzo 1993 Edgar Trujillo Ciro Alvaro Concha Juan Carlos Elorza 10 La determinación del precio interno del café en un modelo Carlos Felipe Jaramillo Abril 1993 de optimización intertemporal. Carlos Esteban Posada Edgar Trujillo Ciro 11 El encaje óptimo Edgar Trujillo Ciro Mayo 1993 Carlos Esteban Posada 12 Crecimiento económico, “Capital Carlos Esteban Posada Junio 1993 humano” y educación: la teoría y el caso colombiano posterior a 1945 13 Estimación del PIB trimestral según los componentes del gasto. Rafael Cubillos Junio 1993 Fanny Mercedes Valderrama 14 Diferencial de tasas de interés y flujos de capital en Colombia Andrés Langebaek Agosto 1993 (1980-1993) 15 Empleo y capital en Colombia: nuevas Adriana Barrios Septiembre 1993 estimaciones (1950-1992) Marta Luz Henao Carlos Esteban Posada Fanny Mercedes Valderrama Diego Mauricio Vásquez 16 Productividad, crecimiento y ciclos en la economía Carlos Esteban Posada Septiembre 1993 colombiana (1967-1992) 17 Crecimiento económico y apertura en Chile y México y Fernando Mesa Parra Septiembre 1993 perspectivas para Colombia. 18 El papel del capital público en la producción, inversión y Fabio Sánchez Torres Octubre 1993 el crecimiento económico en Colombia. 19 Tasa de cambio real y tasa de cambio de equilibrio. Andrés Langebaek Octubre 1993 20 La evolución económica reciente: dos interpretaciones Carlos Esteban Posada Noviembre 1993

alternativas.

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21 El papel de gasto público y su financiación en la coyuntura Alvaro Zarta Avila Diciembre 1993 actual: algunas implicaciones complementarias. 22 Inversión extranjera y crecimiento económico. Alejandro Gaviria Diciembre 1993 Javier Alberto Gutiérrez 23 Inflación y crecimiento en Colombia Alejandro Gaviria Febrero 1994 Carlos Esteban Posada 24 Exportaciones y crecimiento en Colombia Fernando Mesa Parra Febrero 1994 25 Experimento con la vieja y la nueva teoría del crecimiento Carlos Esteban Posada Febrero 1994 económico (¿porqué crece tan rápido China?) 26 Modelos económicos de criminalidad y la posibilidad de Carlos Esteban Posada Abril 1994 una dinámica prolongada. 27 Regímenes cambiarios, política macroeconómica y flujos Carlos Esteban Posada Abril 1994 de capital en Colombia. 28 Comercio intraindustrial: el caso colombiano Carlos Pombo Abril 1994 29 Efectos de una bonanza petrolera a la luz de un modelo Hernando Zuleta Mayo 1994 de optimización intertemporal. Juan Pablo Arango 30 Crecimiento económico y productividad en Colombia: Sergio Clavijo Junio 1994 . una perspectiva de largo plazo (1957-1994) 31 Inflación o desempleo: ¿Acaso hay escogencia en Colombia? Sergio Clavijo Agosto 1994 32 La distribución del ingreso y el sistema financiero Edgar Trujillo Ciro Agosto 1994 33 La trinidad económica imposible en Colombia: estabilidad Sergio Clavijo Agosto 1994

cambiaria, independencia monetaria y flujos de capital libres

34 ¿’Déjà vu?: tasa de cambio, deuda externa y esfuerzo exportador Sergio Clavijo Mayo 1995 en Colombia. 35 La crítica de Lucas y la inversión en Colombia: Mauricio Cárdenas Septiembre 1995 nueva evidencia Mauricio Olivera 36 Tasa de Cambio y ajuste del sector externo en Colombia. Fernando Mesa Parra Septiembre 1995 Dairo Estrada 37 Análisis de la evolución y composición del Sector Público. Mauricio Olivera G. Septiembre 1995 Manuel Fernando Castro Q. Fabio Sánchez T. 38 Incidencia distributiva del IVA en un modelo del ciclo de vida. Juan Carlos Parra Osorio Octubre 1995 Fabio José Sánchez T. 39 Por qué los niños pobres no van a la escuela? Fabio Sánchez Torres Noviembre 1995 (Determinantes de la asistencia escolar en Colombia) Jairo Augusto Núñez M. 40 Matriz de Contabilidad Social 1992. Fanny M. Valderrama Diciembre 1995 Javier Alberto Gutiérrez 41 Multiplicadores de Contabilidad derivados de la Matriz Javier Alberto Gutiérrez Enero 1996 de Contabilidad Social Fanny M. Valderrama G. 42 El ciclo de referencia de la economía colombiana. Martin Maurer Febrero 1996 María Camila Uribe S. 43 Impacto de las transferencias intergubernamentales en la Juan Carlos Parra Osorio Marzo 1996 distribución interpersonal del ingreso en Colombia. 44 Auge y colapso del ahorro empresarial en Colombia: Fabio Sánchez Torres Abril 1996 1983-1994 Guillermo Murcia Guzmán Carlos Oliva Neira

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45 Evolución y comportamiento del gasto público en Colombia: Cielo María Numpaque Mayo 1996 1950-1994 Ligia Rodríguez Cuestas 46 Los efectos no considerados de la apertura económica en el Fernando Mesa Parra Mayo 1996 mercado laboral industrial. Javier Alberto Gutiérrez 47 Un modelo de Financiamiento óptimo de un aumento Alvaro Zarta Avila Junio 1996

permanente en el gasto público: Una ilustración con el caso colombiano.

48 Estadísticas descriptivas del mercado laboral masculino y Rocío Ribero M. Agosto 1996 femenino en Colombia: 1976 -1995 Carmen Juliana García B. 49 Un sistema de indicadores líderes para Colombia Martín Maurer Agosto 1996 María Camila Uribe Javier Birchenall 50 Evolución y determinantes de la productividad en Colombia: Fabio Sánchez Torres Agosto 1996 Un análisis global y sectorial Jorge Iván Rodríguez Jairo Núñez Méndez 51 Gobernabilidad y Finanzas Públicas en Colombia. César A. Caballero R Noviembre 1996 52 Tasas Marginales Efectivas de Tributación en Colombia. Mauricio Olivera G. Noviembre 1996 53 Un modelo keynesiano para la economía colombiana Fabio José Sánchez T. Febrero 1997 Clara Elena Parra 54 Trimestralización del Producto Interno Bruto por el lado Fanny M. Valderrama Febrero 1997 de la oferta. 55 Poder de mercado, economías de escala, complementariedades Juán Mauricio Ramírez Marzo 1997

intersectoriales y crecimiento de la productividad en la industria colombiana.

56 Estimación y calibración de sistemas flexibles de gasto. Orlando Gracia Abril 1997 Gustavo Hernández 57 Mecanismos de ahorro e Inversión en las Empresas Públicas Fabio Sánchez Torres Mayo 1997 Colombianas: 1985-1994 Guilllermo Murcia G. 58 Capital Flows, Savings and investment in Colombia: 1990-1996 José Antonio Ocampo G. Mayo 1997 Camilo Ernesto Tovar M.

59 Un Modelo de Equilibrio General Computable con Juan Pablo Arango Junio 1997 Competencia imperfecta para Colombia. Orlando Gracia Gustavo Hernández Juan Mauricio Ramírez 60 El cálculo del PIB Potencial en Colombia. Javier A. Birchenall J. Julio 1997 61 Determinantes del Ahorro de los hogares. Explicación Alberto Castañeda C. Julio 1997 de su caída en los noventa. Gabriel Piraquive G. 62 Los ingresos laborales de hombres y Rocío Ribero Agosto 1997

mujeres en Colombia: 1976-1995 Claudia Meza 63 Determinantes de la participación laboral de hombres y Rocío Ribero Agosto 1997

mujeres en Colombia: 1976-1995 Claudia Meza

64 Inversión bajo incertidumbre en la Industria Colombiana: Javier A. Birchenall Agosto 1997 1985-1995

65 Modelo IS-LM para Colombia. Relaciones de largo plazo y Jorge Enrique Restrepo Agosto 1997 fluctuaciones económicas.

66 Correcciones a los Ingresos de las Encuestas de hogares y Jairo A. Núñez Méndez Septiembre 1997 distribución del Ingreso Urbano en Colombia. Jaime A. Jiménez Castro

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67 Ahorro, Inversión y Transferencias en las Entidades Fabio Sánchez Torres Octubre 1997 Territoriales Colombianas Mauricio Olivera G. Giovanni Cortés S. 68 Efectos de la Tasa de cambio real sobre la Inversión Fernando Mesa Parra Octubre 1997 industrial en un Modelo de transferencia de precios. Leyla Marcela Salguero Fabio Sánchez Torres 69 Convergencia Regional: Una revisión del caso Javier A. Birchenall Octubre 1997 Colombiano. Guillermo E. Murcia G. 70 Income distribution, human capital and economic Javier A. Birchenall Octubre 1997 growth in Colombia. 71 Evolución y determinantes del Ahorro del Gobierno Central. Fabio Sánchez Torres Noviembre 1997 Ma. Victoria Angulo 72 Macroeconomic Perforrmance and Inequality in Colombia: Raquel Bernal Diciembre 1997 1976-1996 Mauricio Cárdenas Jairo Núñez Méndez

Fabio Sánchez Torres

73 Liberación comercial y salarios en Colombia: 1976-1994 Donald Robbins Enero 1998

74 Educación y salarios relativos en Colombia: 1976-1995 Jairo Núñez Méndez Enero 1998

Determinantes, evolución e implicaciones para Fabio Sánchez Torres la distribución del Ingreso

75 La tasa de interés “óptima” Carlos Esteban Posada Febrero 1998 Edgar Trujillo Ciro

76 Los costos económicos de la criminalidad y la violencia en Edgar Trujillo Ciro Marzo 1998 Colombia: 1991-1996 Martha Elena Badel

77 Elasticidades Precio y Sustitución para la Industria Juán Pablo Arango Marzo 1998 Colombiana. Orlando Gracia

Gustavo Hernández

78 Flujos Internacionales de Capital en Colombia: Ricardo Rocha García Marzo 1998 Un enfoque de Portafolio Fernando Mesa Parra 79 Macroeconomía, ajuste estructural y equidad en Colombia: José Antonio Ocampo Marzo 1998 1978-1996 María José Pérez Camilo Ernesto Tovar Francisco Javier Lasso 80 La Curva de Salarios para Colombia. Una Estimación de las Fabio Sánchez Torres Marzo 1998 Relaciones entre el Desempleo, la Inflación y los Ingresos Jairo Núñez Méndez Laborales: 1984- 1996. 81 Participación, Desempleo y Mercados Laborales en Colombia. Jaime Tenjo G. Abril 1998 Rocio Ribero M. 82 Reformas comerciales, márgenes de beneficio y Juán Pablo Arango Abril 1998 productividad en la industria colombiana Orlando Gracia Gustavo Hernández Juán Mauricio Ramírez 83 Capital y Crecimiento Económico en un Modelo Alvaro Zarta Avila Mayo 1998.

Dinámico: Una presentación de la dinámica Transicional para los casos de EEUU y Colombia

84 Determinantes de la Inversión en Colombia: E videncia sobre Clara Helena Parra Junio 1998. el capital humano y la violencia.

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85 Mujeres en sus casas: Un recuento de la población Piedad Urdinola Contreras Junio 1998. Femenina económicamente activa

86 Descomposición de la desigualdad del Ingreso laboral Fabio Sánchez Torres Junio 1998. Urbano en Colombia: 1976-1997 Jairo Núñez Méndez

87 El tamaño del Estado Colombiano Indicadores y tendencias: Angela Cordi Galat Junio 1998. 1976-1997

88 Elasticidades de sustitución de las importaciones para la Gustavo Hernández Junio 1998. economía colombiana.

89 La tasa natural de desempleo en Colombia Martha Luz Henao Junio 1998. Norberto Rojas

90 The role of shocks in the colombian economy Ana María Menéndez Julio 1998. 91 The determinants of Human Capital Accumulation in Donald J. Robbins Julio 1998.

Colombia, with implications for Trade and Growth Theory 92 Estimaciones de funciones de demanda de trabajo dinámicas Alejandro Vivas Benítez Julio 1998.

para la economía colombiana, 1980-1996 Stefano Farné Dagoberto Urbano

93 Análisis de las relaciones entre violencia y equidad. Alfredo Sarmiento Agosto 1998. Lida Marina Becerra 94 Evaluación teórica y empírica de las exportaciones Fernando Mesa Parra Agosto 1998. no tradicionales en Colombia María Isabel Cock

Angela Patricia Jiménez 95 Valoración económica del empleo doméstico femenino Piedad Urdinola Contreras Agosto 1998.

no remunerado, en Colombia, 1978-1993

96 Eficiencia en el Gasto Público de Educación. María Camila Uribe Agosto 1998. 97 El desempleo en Colombia: tasa natural, desempleo cíclico Jairo Núñez M. Septiembre 1998. y estructural y la duración del desempleo: 1976-1998. Raquel Bernal S. 98 Productividad y retornos sociales del Capital humano: Francisco A. González R. Noviembre 1998. Microfundamentos y evidencia para Colombia. Carolina Guzmán R. Angela L. Pachón G. 99 Reglas monetarias en Colombia y Chile Jorge E. Restrepo L. Enero 1999. 100 Inflation Target Zone: The Case of Colombia: 1973-1994 Jorge E. Restrepo L. Febrero 1999. 101 ¿ Es creíble la Política Cambiaria en Colombia? Carolina Hoyos V. Marzo 1999. 102 La Curva de Phillips, la Crítica de Lucas y la persistencia Javier A.Birchenall Abril 1999.

de la inflación en Colombia.

103 Un modelo macroeconométrico para la economía Javier A.Birchenall Abril 1999. Colombiana Juan Daniel Oviedo

104 Una revisión de la literatura teórica y la experiencia Marcela Eslava Mejía Abril 1999. Internacional en regulación

105 El transporte terrestre de carga en Colombia Marcela Eslava Mejía Abril 1999. Documento para el Taller de Regulación. Eleonora Lozano Rodríguez

106 Notas de Economía Monetaria. (Primera Parte) Juan Carlos Echeverry G. Abril 1999. 107 Ejercicios de Causalidad y Exogeneidad para Ingresos Mauricio Bussolo Mayo 1999.

salariales nominales públicos y privados Colombianos Orlando Gracia (1976-1997). Camilo Zea

108 Real Exchange Rate Swings and Export Behavior: Felipe Illanes Mayo 1999. Explaining the Robustness of Chilean Exports.

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109 Segregación laboral en las 7 principales ciudades del país. Piedad Urdinola Mayo 1999. 110 Estimaciones trimestrales de la línea de pobreza y sus relaciones Jairo Núñez Méndez Mayo 1999 con el desempeño macroeconómico Colombiano: (1977-1997) Fabio José Sánchez T. 111 Costos de la corrupción en Colombia. Marta Elena Badel Mayo 1999 112 Relevancia de la dinámica transicional para el Alvaro Zarta Junio 1999

crecimiento de largo plazo: Efectos sobre las tasas de interés real, la productividad marginal y la estructura de la producción para los casos de EEUU y Colombia..

113 La recesión actual en Colombia: Flujos, Balances y Juan Carlos Echeverry Junio 1999 Política anticíclica

114 Monetary Rules in a Small Open Economy Jorge E. Restrepo L. Junio 1999

115 El Balance del Sector Público y la Sostenibilidad Juan Carlos Echeverry Junio 1999 Fiscal en Colombia Gabriel Piraquive Natalia Salazar Ma. Victoria Angulo Gustavo Hernández Cielo Ma. Numpaque Israel Fainboim Carlos Jorge Rodriguez 116 Crisis y recuperación de las Finanzas Públicas lecciones Marcela Eslava Mejía Julio 1999 de América Latina para el caso colombiano. 117. Complementariedades Factoriales y Cambio Técnico Gustavo Hernández Julio 1999

en la Industria Colombiana. Juan Mauricio Ramírez

118. ¿Hay un estancamiento en la oferta de crédito? Juan Carlos Echeverry Julio 1999 Natalia Salazar

119 Income distribution and macroeconomics in Colombia. Javier A. Birchenall J. Julio 1999. 120 Transporte carretero de carga. Taller de regulación. Juan Carlos Echeverry G. Agosto 1999.

DNP-UMACRO. Informe final. Marcela Eslava Mejía Eleonora Lozano Rodriguez 121 ¿ Se cumplen las verdades nacionales a nivel regional? Nelly.Angela Cordi Galat Agosto 1999.

Primera aproximación a la construcción de matrices de contabilidad social regionales en Colombia.

122 El capital social en Colombia. John SUDARSKY Octubre 1999. La medición nacional con el BARCAS Separata N° 1 de 5



125 El capital social en Colombia. John SUDARSKY Octubre 1999.

La medición nacional con el BARCAS Separata N° 4 de 5

126 El capital social en Colombia. John SUDARSKY Octubre 1999.

La medición nacional con el BARCAS Separata N° 5 de 5

127 The Liquidity Effect in Colombia Jorge E. Restrepo Noviembre 1999.

128 Upac: Evolución y crisis de un modelo de desarrollo. Juan C Echeverry Diciembre 1999. Orlando Gracia B. Piedad Urdinola

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129 Confronting fiscal imbalances via intertemporal Juan C Echeverry Diciembre 1999.

Economics, politics and justice: the case of Colombia Verónica Navas-Ospina 130 La tasa de interés en la coyuntura reciente en Colombia. Jorge Enrique Restrepo Diciembre 1999.

Edgar Trujillo Ciro 131 Los ciclos económicos en Colombia. Evidencia empírica: Jorge Enrique Restrepo Enero 2000.

(1977-1998) José Daniel Reyes Peña 132 Colombia'natural trade partners and its bilateral trade Hernán Eduardo Vallejo Enero 2000.

performance: Evidence from 1960 to 1996 133 Los derechos constitucionales de prestación y sus Luis Carlos Sotelo Febrero 2000.

implicaciones económico- políticas. Los casos del derecho a la salud y de los derechos de los reclusos

134 La reactivación productiva del sector privado colombiano Luis Alberto Zuleta Marzo 2000.

Documento elaborado para el BID)

135 Geography and Economic Development: Fabio José Sánchez T. Marzo 2000. A Municipal Approach for Colombia. Jairo Núñez Méndez

136 La evaluación de resultados en la modernización Eduardo Wiesner Durán Abril 2000. del Estado en América Latina. Restricciones y Estrategia para su desarrollo.

137 La regulación de precios del transporte de carga por Marcela Eslava Mejía Abril 2000. carretera en Colombia.

138 El conflicto armado en Colombia. Yuri Gorbaneff Julio 2000. Una aproximación a la teoría de juegos. Flavio Jácome

139 Determinación del consumo básico de agua potable Juan Carlos Junca Salas Noviembre 2000. subsidiable en Colombia. . 140 Incidencia fiscal de los incentivos tributarios Juan Ricardo Ortega Noviembre 2000.

Gabriel Armando Piraquive Gustavo Adolfo Hernández Carolina Soto Losada Sergio Iván Prada Juan Mauricio Ramirez

141 Exenciones tributarias: Gustavo A. Hernández Diciembre 2000

Costo fiscal y análisis de incidencia Carolina Soto Losada Sergio Iván Prada Juan Mauricio Ramirez

142 La contabilidad del crecimiento, las dinámicas transicionales y Alvaro Zarta Avila Febrero 2001 el largo plazo: Una comparación internacional de 46 países y una presentación de casos de economías tipo: EEUU, Corea del Sur y Colombia.

143 ¿Nos parecemos al resto del mundo? Juan Carlos Echeverry G. Febrero 2001

El Conflicto colombiano en el contexto internacional. Natalia Salazar Ferro Verónica Navas Ospina

144 Inconstitucionalidad del Plan Nacional de Desarrollo: Luis Edmundo Suárez S. Marzo 2001 causas, efectos y alternativas. Diego Mauricio Avila A. 145 La afiliación a la salud y los efectos redistributivos Hernando Moreno G. Abril 2001 de los subsidios a la demanda. 146 La participación laboral: ¿qué ha pasado y qué Mauricio Santamaría S. Abril 2001 podemos esperar? Norberto Rojas Delgadillo 147 Análisis de las importaciones agropecuarias en la Gustavo Hernández Mayo 2001 década de los Noventa. Juan Ricardo Perilla 148 Impacto económico del programa de Desarrollo Gustavo A. Hernández Mayo 2001

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alternativo del Plan Colombia Sergio Iván Prada Juan Mauricio Ramírez

149 Análisis de la presupuestación de la inversión de la Nación. Ulpiano Ayala Oramas Mayo 2001 150 DNPENSION: Un modelo de simulación para estimar Juan Carlos Parra Osorio Mayo 2001 el costo fiscal del sistema pensional colombiano. 151 La oferta de combustible de Venezuela en la frontera Hernando Moreno G. Junio 2001 con Colombia: una aproximación a su cuantificación 152 Shocks fiscales y términos de intercambio en el caso Ómer ÖZAK MUñOZ. Julio 2001 colombiano. 153 Demanda por importaciones en Colombia: Igor Esteban Zuccardi Julio 2001

Una estimación.

154 Elementos para mejorar la adaptabilidad del Mauricio Santa María S. Agosto 2001 mercado laboral colombiano. Norberto Rojas Delgadillo 155 ¿Qué tan poderosas son las aerolíneas colombianas? Ximena Peña Parga Agosto 2001

Estimación de poder de mercado de las rutas colombianas.

156 Elementos para el debate sobre una nueva reforma Juan Carlos Echeverry Septiembre 2001 pensional en Colombia. Andrés Escobar Arango César Merchán Hernández

Gabriel Piraquive Galeano Mauricio Santa María S. 157 Agregando votos en un sistema altamente Francisco Gutiérrez Sanín Octubre 2001 desistitucionalizado. 158 Eficiencia -X en el Sector Bancario Colombiano Carlos Alberto Castro I Noviembre 2001 159 Determinantes de la calidad de la educación en Colombia. Alejandro Gaviria Noviembre 2001 Jorge Hugo Barrientos 160 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal. Fabio Sánchez Torres Noviembre 2001 Descentralización y macroeconomía 161 Impuestos a las transacciones: Implicaciones sobre el bienestar Rodrigo Suescún Noviembre 2001 y el crecimiento. 162 Strategic Trade Policy and Exchange Rate Uncertainty Fernando Mesa Parra Noviembre 2001 163 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal en Colombia. Alberto Maldonado C. Noviembre 2001 Avances y resultados de la descentralización Política en Colombia 164 Choques financieros, precios de activos y recesión Alejandro Badel Flórez Noviembre 2001 en Colombia. 165 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal en Juan Gonzalo Zapata Noviembre 2001 Colombia. ¿Se consolidó la sostenibilidad fiscal de los Olga Lucía Acosta municipios colombianos durante los años noventa. Adriana González 166 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal en Maria Mercedes Maldonado Noviembre 2001 Colombia. La descentralización en el Sector de Gonzalo Vargas Forero Agua potable y Saneamiento básico. 167 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal en Edgar González Salas Diciembre 2001 Colombia. La relación entre corrupción y proceso de descentralización en Colombia. 168 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal en Carmen Helena Vergara Diciembre 2001 Colombia. Estudio general sobre antecedentes, Mary Simpson

diseño, avances y resultados generales del proceso de descentralización territorial en el Sector Educativo.

169 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal en Edgar González Salas Diciembre 2001

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Colombia. Componente de capacidad institucional. 170 Evaluación de la descentralización municipal en Iván Jaramillo Pérez Diciembre 2001 Colombia. Evaluación de la descentralización en

Salud en Colombia.

171 External Trade, Skill, Technology and the recent Mauricio Santa María S. Diciembre 2001 increase of income inequality in Colombia

172 Seguimiento y evaluación de la participación de los Dirección de Desarrollo Diciembre 2001 resguardos indígenas en los ingresos corrientes de la Territorial Nación para el período 1998 y 1999.

173 Exposición de Motivos de la Reforma de la Ley 60 de Dirección de Desarrollo Diciembre 2001 1993. Sector Educación y Sector Salud Social 174 Transferencias, incentivos y la endogenidad del gasto Eduardo Wiesner Durán Enero 2002. Territorial. Seminario internacional sobre Federalismo

fiscal - Secretaría de Hacienda de México, CEPAL, ILPES, CAF - Cancún, México. 18-20 de Mayo de 2000

175 Cualificación laboral y grado de sindicalización Flavio Jácome Liévano Enero 2002. 176 OFFSETS: Aproximación teórica y experiencia Nohora Eugenia Posada Febrero 2002. Internacional. Yaneth Cristina Giha Tovar

Paola Buendía García Alvaro José Chávez G. 177 Pensiones: conceptos y esquemas de financiación César Augusto Merchán H. Febrero 2002. 178 La erradicación de las minas antipersonal sembradas Yilberto Lahuerta P. Marzo 2002. en Colombia - Implicaciones y costos- Ivette María Altamar 179 Economic growth in Colombia: A reversal of "Fortune"? Mauricio Cárdenas S. Marzo 2002. 180 El siglo del modelo de desarrollo. Juan Carlos Echeverry G Abril 2002. 181 Metodología de un Modelo ARIMA condicionado Juan Pablo Herrera S. Abril 2002. para el pronóstico del PIB. Gustavo A. Hernández D. 182 ¿Cuáles son los colombianos con pensiones César Augusto Merchán H. Abril 2002.

privilegiadas?

183 Garantías en carreteras de primera generación. José Daniel Reyes Peña. Abril 2002 Impacto económico.

184 Impacto económico de las garantías de la Nación José Daniel Reyes Peña. Abril 2002 en proyectos de infraestructura.

185 Aproximación metodológica y cuantitativa Ricardo Pérez Sandoval Abril 2002 de los costos económicos generados por el Andrés Vergara Ballén problema de las drogas ilícitas en Colombia Yilberto Lahuerta P (1995 - 2000) 186 Tendencia, ciclos y distribución del ingreso Juan Carlos Echeverry G. Abril 2002. en Colombia: una crítica al concepto de Andrés Escobar Arango

"modelo de desarrollo" Mauricio Santa María S.

187 Crecimiento y ciclos económicos. Efectos de los choques Igor Esteban Zuccardi H. Mayo 2002. de oferta y demanda en el crecimiento colombiano

188 A general equilibrium model for tax policy Thomas F. Rutherford. Mayo 2002. analysis in Colombia. The MEGATAX model. Miles K. Light

189 A dynamic general equilibrium model for tax Thomas F. Rutherford. Mayo 2002. policy analysis in Colombia. Miles K. Light Gustavo Hernández

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190 Sistema Bancario Colombiano: Alejandro Badel Flórez. Junio 2002. ¿Somos eficientes a nivel internacional?

191 Política para mejorar el servicio de transporte público DNP: DIE- GEINF Junio 2002. urbano de pasajeros. 192 Two decades of economic and social development Carlos Eduardo Vélez | Junio 2002.

in urban Colombia: a mixed outcome Mauricio Santa María, Natalia Millán Benedicte De La Briere World bank (lac/prem)

193 ¿Cuáles colegios ofrecen mejor educación en Colombia? Jairo Núñez Méndez Junio 2002. Roberto Steiner

Ximena Cadena Renata Pardo CEDE, U. de los Andes

194 Nuevos enfoques de política regional en América Latina: Edgard Moncayo J. Julio 2002.

El caso de Colombia en perspectiva histórica. Las nuevas teorías y enfoques conceptuales sobre el

desarrollo regional. ¿Hacia un nuevo paradigma? Separata 1 de 7 195 Nuevos enfoques de política regional en América Latina: Edgard Moncayo J. Julio 2002.

El caso de Colombia en perspectiva histórica. Las políticas regionales: Un enfoque por generaciones

Separata 2 de 7 196 Nuevos enfoques de política regional en América Latina: Edgard Moncayo J. Julio 2002.

El caso de Colombia en perspectiva histórica. Un mundo de geometría variable: Los territorios que ganan y los que pierden.


El caso de Colombia en perspectiva histórica. Enfoques teóricos y evidencias empíricas sobre el desarrollo regional en Colombia.


El caso de Colombia en perspectiva histórica. Las políticas regionales en Colombia.


El caso de Colombia en perspectiva histórica. Tendencias del desarrollo regional en Colombia. -Polarización, apertura y conflicto-


El caso de Colombia en perspectiva histórica. Marco conceptual y metodológico para el diseño de una nueva generación de políticas de desarrollo regional en Colombia.

Separata 7 de 7 201 Viabilidad de los servicios públicos domiciliarios Mauricio Santa María Agosto 2002 en la ciudad de Santiago de Cali. Francisco Bernal Carlos David Beltrán David Villalba 202 Optimal enforcement: Finding the right balance Jaime Andrés Estrada Agosto 2002 203 Does corporate governance matter for developing Paula Acosta Márquez Agosto 2002 countries? An overview of the Mexican case.

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204 Reflexiones sobre el proceso de paz del gobierno de Andrés Camilo Leguízamo Agosto 2002 PASTRANA y las FARC-Ep: (1998-2002) 205 Contratación pública en Colombia y teoría Económica. Yuri Gorbaneff Septiembre 2002. 206 Does planning pay to perform in infrastructure? Daniel Torres Gracia Septiembre 2002.

Deconstructing the babylon tower on the planning/ performance relationships in energy, telecommunications and transport sectors – colombian case.

207 A dynamic analysis of household decision making in urban Fabio Sánchez Torres Octubre 2002. Colombia, 1976-1998 Jairo Núñez Méndez Changes in household structure, human capital and its returns, and female labor force participation .

208 Inversión pública sectorial y crecimiento Alvaro A. Perdomo S. Octubre 2002. Económico: Una aproximación desde la Metodología VAR. 209 Impacto macroeconómico y distributivo del Impuesto de Ömer Özak Muñoz. Octubre 2002. seguridad democrática. Oscar Mauricio Valencia

210 Empleo informal y evasión fiscal en Colombia. Jairo A. Núñez Méndez Octubre 2002.

211 Diagnóstico del programa de reinserción en Colombia: Maria Eugenia Pinto B. Noviembre 2002.

mecanismos para incentivar la desmovilización voluntaria Andrés Vergara Ballén individual. Yilberto Lahuerta P.

212 Economías de escala en los hogares y pobreza. Francisco Javier Lasso V. Noviembre 2002. Tesis para optar el título de Magíster en Teoría y

Política Económica de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

213 Nueva metodología de Encuesta de hogares. Francisco Javier Lasso V. Noviembre 2002. ¿Más o menos desempleados?

214 Una aproximación de la Política Comercial Estratégica Ricardo E. Rocha G.. Diciembre 2002. para el ingreso de Colombia al ALCA. Juan Ricardo Perilla

Ramiro López Soler 215 The political business cycle in Colombia Allan Drazen Enero 2003. on the National and Regional level. Marcela Eslava University of Maryland 216 Balance macroeconómico de 2002 y Dirección de Estudios Enero 2003. Perspectivas para 2003. Económicos 217 Women workers in Bogotà ‘s Informal sector: Jairo G. Isaza Castro Febrero 2003. Gendered impact of structural adjustment Policies in the 1990s.

Tesis para optar el título de Magíster en Estudios de Desarrollo del Instituto de Estudios Sociales de The Hague- Holanda.

Documents

Isaza (2002) women workers in Bogota's informasl sector