Brazilian Labor Market Research Articles

Racial and Gender Inequality in the Brazilian Labor Market

Racial and Gender Inequality in the Brazilian Labor Market

Neoliberalismo e a uberização do trabalho

In the global context, the spread of the neoliberal paradigm in the brazilian labor market, driven by technological progress, intensifies the precariousness of work, with Uberization being a determining factor in the reconfigurations and challenges imposed on workers. This study aimed to understand Uberization, outlining its emergence and expansion through digital platforms, analyzing its impacts on different sectors of the labor market in Brazil. The research, characterized as a qualitative narrative review, encompassed works in the databases of Google Scholar and Scielo, using descriptors such as "Uberization," "work flexibility," "informalization," and "work precarization." In light of the literature, it is concluded that Uberization, resulting from the intersection of technological advancement and the neoliberal paradigm, enhances labor precarity, giving digital platforms a central role. This understanding is imperative for addressing the impacts on workers, requiring deep reflection, the formulation of public policies, and the implementation of social strategies.

Impacts of Forced Immigration: The Venezuelan Diaspora and the Brazilian Labor Market

ABSTRACT This article estimates the impact of immigrant influxes on local labor markets, taking advantage of a natural experiment generated by a massive wave of forced migration of Venezuelans to Roraima, a state in northern Brazil, from 2016 onward. Estimates show that a 1% increase in the share of migrants in the state population due to immigration resulted in 1.1% higher earnings for native workers in the formal sector, 0.3% fewer hours worked weekly, and 2.3% higher wages. Results are confirmed by employing a synthetic control method.

Smoking effects on labor income: new evidence for Brazil

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the effect of smoking on the income of workers in the Brazilian labor market.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from the 2019 National Health Survey (PNS), we initially address the sample selection bias concerning labor market participation by using the Heckman (1979) method. Subsequently, the decomposition of income between smokers and nonsmokers is analyzed, both on average and across the earnings distribution by employing the procedure of Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009) - FFL decomposition. Ñopo (2008) technique is also used to obtain more robust estimates.FindingsOverall, the findings indicate an income penalty for smokers in the Brazilian labor market across both the average and all quantiles of the income distribution. Notably, the most significant differentials and income penalties against smokers are observed in the lower quantiles of the distribution. Conversely, in the higher quantiles, there is a tendency toward a smaller magnitude of this gap, with limited evidence of an income penalty associated with this habit.Research limitations/implicationsThis study presents an important limitation, which refers to a restriction of the PNS (2019), which does not provide information about some subjective factors that also tend to influence the levels of labor income, such as the level of effort and specific ability of each worker, whether smokers or not, something that could also, in some way, be related to some latent individual predisposition that would influence the choice of smoking.Originality/valueThe relevance of the present study is clear in identifying the heterogeneity of the income gap in favor of nonsmokers, as in the lower quantiles there was a greater magnitude of differentials against smokers and a greater incidence of unexplained penalties in the income of these workers, while in the higher quantiles, there was low magnitude of the differentials and little evidence that there is a penalty in earnings since the worker is a smoker.

Electronic monitoring of working time and labour market outcomes: Evidence from Brazil

AbstractThis study analyses the dynamics of registered firms after implementing a new law (2009) in the Brazilian labour market. The law proposed the electronic monitoring of working time to provide more efficiency and security by standardizing the equipment used for control and avoiding manipulation. As stricter monitoring may increase costs, this paper seeks to analyse whether there have been changes in the dynamics of firms adapting to the new regulation. There are two potential mechanisms as a reference: increasing wages and decreasing workers (or contracted hours), and increasing labour force and decreasing contracted hours per worker (and therefore the monthly wage). Using Brazilian employee–employer data and the difference‐in‐differences approach as an empirical strategy, our main findings suggest that firms that adapt to the new electronic workday control had a general reduction in the number of hours hired, an increase in wages for companies with 10–50 employees and a decrease in workplace accidents in firms with 50 or more employees.

The labor market in Brazil, 2001–2022

The labor market in Brazil, 2001–2022

Implementation of Indonesian and Swiss Cooperation Regarding Returning Assets Proceeds of Corruption Within the Framework of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters 2019-2022

The aim of this work is to identify the chances of individuals moving to the state of unemployment in the Brazilian labor market with the application of a logit model, analyzing two moments: before the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and during the Covid-19 crisis. Evidence indicates that there was an increase in the probabilities of unemployment among pardos in relation to white and black groups. The chances of male groups being unemployed during and, therefore, after the crisis were lower than in previous periods. Black women had a more fragile situation in which they saw the threat of transition to unemployment increase by about 40% compared to the period before the health crisis

Woman cartography in the Brazilian labor market: verses and reverses

This article discusses the scenario that illustrates the role of women in the economy and society; addresses the issue that although this scenario has undergone significant changes in recent decades, female participation in the labor market in Brazil is still lower when compared to male participation. Thus, the general objective of the study is to analyze the working conditions of women. As for the methodological procedures, it is a bibliographical research, carried out in the following databases: Google Scholar, SciELO and repositories and it has a qualitative, descriptive and analytical approach. The results indicate that, in the Brazilian labor market, there are still differences between women and men, mainly with regard to remuneration and working hours, introducing an unexpected progress in female entrepreneurship.

Supported employment as a driver for the social inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market.

Based on the need for organizational institutions to act, through public policies, in the establishment of programs focused on the inclusion of People with Disabilities (PwD) in the labor market in Brazil. The Supported Employment methodology (SE) was constituted by directing and providing support, in the workplace, to PwD. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the intra-organizational management of the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market in the southern region of Santa Catarina and the alignment with the precepts of Supported Employment (SE). Using a qualitative approach, the multi-case study was carried out through interviews, based on semi-structured questions, in five companies in the southern region of SC that are required to hire PwD. The research points out the movement of companies in the development of policies and practices for the inclusion of PwD in the job market. However, there is still a significant gap between company practices and SE precepts. There are no formal programs and policies with wide internal dissemination, about the drivers for PwD. This study helps to address eventual difficulties of companies regarding practices in the inclusion of PwD, contributes to the definition of guidelines aimed at improving existing policies or in the development of new practices aimed at the inclusion of PwD.

Occupational Polarization in Brazilian Labor Market, 1985-2015

The objective of this paper is to analyze employment and wages in occupational structure of Brazilian labor market, considering the gender gap as well. The analysis is based on information from 1985 to 2015 and estimates from income equations. Results showed that occupational polarization was more evident for women during the three analyzed decades as these women broadened their participation on labor market regarding occupations that were more abstract and manual, non-routine, as professionals and technicians, in the first group, and domestic services, in the second group. On the other hand, men suffered deep transformations in occupational structure regarding manual and routine activities, from agricultural activities to production and operational ones. It was verified a reduction in inequality in wage distribution with the increase of average wages, although occupations that broadened the demand for labor had relative increase in wages, which suggests polarization in women’s payment.

Crises, labour market and informality in Brazil: the Covid-19 shock in the light of past dynamics

In this article, we show the magnitude of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the Brazilian labour market, especially on informal workers who were the main victims. This result calls into question the validity of the standard model, referred to in our work as a ‘canonical crisis’, which states that the informal economy plays a counter-cyclical role as a shock absorber. A thorough analysis reveals that this mechanism was no longer at work either for the pandemic crisis or for the two previous macroeconomic crises: informal employment recedes in times of crisis. In addition, we shed light on a striking phenomenon: the pandemic triggered an upsurge in the number of discouraged workers. How these individuals excluded from the labour market coped day to day remains under-investigated. Among the shock mitigation strategies, only the emergency transfer programme played a significant compensatory role. The crisis may mark a turning point by showing that informal workers – a hitherto politically ‘invisible’ group – became a focal point of public policy and were able to influence decisions. The government can no longer hide behind the laissez-faire strategy of relying on the informal sector as a safety valve to limit the socioeconomic impacts of crises.

Migration, Selection and Income Differentials in Brazilian Labor Market.

Migration is understood in the economic literature as a decision based on prospects of better working conditions and the search for higher remuneration at the destination, compared to the origin of the workforce. In this sense, this article aims to test the hypothesis of favorable migratory selectivity in Brazil based on the model with sample selection bias correction proposed by Heckman (1979). Based on census information for the years 2000 and 2010, the aim is to analyze the population aged between 15 and 60 years who declared themselves to be employed in the Brazilian labor market. Suppose it is confirmed that migrants are a positively selected population group. In that case, they have unobservable characteristics that affect the decision to migrate and, consequently, labor earnings. The second step is to decompose the characteristics that affect the earnings differentials between migrants and non-migrants, considering those of an observable and non-observable nature. The results show that Brazilian intercity migrants make up a positively selected group. Concerning the breakdown of income differentials, labor income is more remarkable in favor of migrants, and the largest share of income differences between migrants and non-migrants is due to unobservable factors. Therefore, the implications of this study show that the migration of qualified human capital in Brazil, that is, those with the best professional performance in the labor market (positively selected), may end up deepening regional socioeconomic inequalities since migrants always seek opportunities in more economically dynamic regions. This suggests that policies be developed to reduce regional inequalities that aim, above all, to boost the growth of less developed regions so that their human capital has the opportunity to develop internally in their regions, contributing to the growth and development of the original region.

China Shock and Female Labor Market Participation in Brazil

Brazil was a successful case of economic growth based on import substitution. Recently, with the China shock, the country’s economy has been exposed to greater competition. In a similar period, an increase of 12 percent in the proportion of formalized female workerstook place in the Brazilian labor market. This paper explores the variation of China Shock between Brazilian local labor markets (or microregions) to identify whether the expansion of Chinese participation in international trade was able to improve the women’s conditions in the Brazilian labor market between 2000 and 2013 measured by the proportion of women formalized, and the wage ratio of female to male workers. It is the first study to assess how the two channels of China shock, the influx of Chinese imports in Brazil, and the increase in Chinese demand for Brazilian exports, affected the outcomes of formal Brazilian women, with data from the Brazilian labor market (RAIS and Census) and information on trade flows between Brazil and China (BACI database).

Are Social Skills Helping Women in the Brazilian Labor Market?

We document an increase in the likelihood of women working in a good job (those with higher wages) in the Brazilian high-skilled labor market in the period of 1994-2017. We highlight the importance of social skills in explaining why the growing demand for high-skilled workers has not been equal across gender. To do so, we built a novel Brazilian Classification of Occupations (CBO) rating based on skill content compatible with the O*NET task index. Our results show a positive relationship between social skills and the female share of occupations, which suggests that women have been choosing professions intensive in this skill. We also provide results consistent with neuroscience literature, which has reported that women have a comparative advantage in performing tasks that require social skills. Finally, we find that the relevance of such skills in determining wages is higher for women than men in recent years.

The Effect of Parental Occupation and Family Arragements on Occupational Choices among Brazilian Youth

This paper estimates the added worker effect and discouraged worker effect for young people in metropolitan Brazil. Its main contribution is to reveal how the transition to unemployment by the household head impacts labor supply among youth, considering the demographic changes – especially the size and composition of family arrangements – that Brazil has undergone in recent decades. We designed multinomial probit models (with and without correction of sample selection bias) covering the main metropolitan regions of the country using data from Brazil’s Monthly Employment Survey (PME) for the years 2002 to 2015, which compiles information on monthly transitions in the Brazilian labor market. Our findings point to evidence of a greater transition of young men and women to activation in the labor market, specifically from inactivity to unemployment, in periods when the household head became unemployed. On the other hand, there is no evidence of a statistically significant discouraged worker effect impacting these individuals. Furthermore, the parents’ occupational situation seems to have little effect on the transition to activation of young males in low-income families, unlike those belonging to wealthier families.

Evolution of female employment in the Brazilian labor market

Resumo Nos últimos três quinquênios, o Brasil reduziu consideravelmente o gap de emprego entre homens e mulheres: enquanto o emprego formal masculino aumentou 46% entre 2003 e 2018, o feminino cresceu 74%, constatando maior participação das mulheres no mercado de trabalho. Essa tendência é compartilhada na região da América Latina. Parte disso pode ser explicado por fatores setoriais (hipótese de segregação), especificamente a saída das mulheres dos empregos nos setores agrícola e industrial e o aumento do emprego feminino nos serviços. O objetivo deste artigo é decompor as fontes de variação do emprego feminino no Brasil no período de 2003-2018. A análise é baseada no método shift-share, que permite mensurar, por meio da decomposição do crescimento do emprego, a contribuição agregada, setorial e de gênero. Os cálculos são apresentados para três subperíodos: 2003-2011, 2011-2014 e 2014-2018, os quais correspondem a diferentes fases dinâmicas do mercado de trabalho brasileiro. Os resultados mostraram que os componentes que mais impulsionaram o emprego feminino foi o agregado, seguido de gênero.

Impact of adult obesity in the Brazilian labor market: an analysis of the differences between men and women

Resumo O objetivo deste artigo é analisar o impacto da obesidade adulta de homens e mulheres no mercado de trabalho brasileiro e nos rendimentos salariais. A base teórica corresponde ao modelo de Grossman e são utilizados os microdados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde (PNS) de 2013. Como metodologia, são usados os modelos Probit e Heckit e o método Propensity Score Matching (PSM). Evidenciou-se associação negativa entre obesidade e a participação no mercado de trabalho e nos salários apenas para as mulheres. Considerando os resultados do PSM, houve a confirmação que ser obeso exerce impacto negativo para as mulheres participarem desse mercado e buscarem maiores rendimentos, já para os homens, esse efeito é positivo. Ações mais efetivas de prevenção à obesidade adulta e redução na desigualdade de gênero devem ser adotadas, pois essa doença crônica gera ônus socioeconômico, especialmente, para trabalhadores do sexo feminino.

Racism against immigrants in Brazil: a critical analysis of employers' discourse

Objective: This article investigates the discursive representations related to racism of Brazilian employers and human resource managers on hired immigrant workers. Theoretical framework: The socio-cognitive theory proposed by Van Dijk is presented together with studies on discursive representations of immigrants. Methodology: The qualitative research used semi-structured interviews with 12 employers in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre. Data analysis was based on critical discourse analysis (CDA), on Van Dijk's socio cognitive approach. Results: The research showed that the employers' discourse is based on the assumptions that the immigrant workers: i) are more efficient than Brazilians; ii) subject themselves to any kind of work; iii) are destined for unqualified and hard work; iv) threaten Brazilians (different cultural identities; different community values; may be criminals; are disease spreaders); and v) are an economic burden. The Brazilian employer´s discourse maintains and perpetuates all the characteristics of the racist ideology and makes it difficult for immigrants to enter the Brazilian labour market, forging domination practices that favour social inequality. Originality: This study contributes to broaden the CDA scope of analysis when investigating employers and immigrants. It also dialogues and contributes to the literature in Brazil on CDA by specifically adopting Van Dijk's socio cognitive approach instead of the more adopted Fairclough perspective.

Migração e crise: os efeitos da pandemia de Covid-19 nos trabalhadores migrantes no Brasil

Abstract This study examines to what extent international migrants were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the formal labor market in Brazil. The investigation is framed by a quantitative methodological framework based on Brazilian administrative data to identify hirings and dismissals of migrant workers. In dialogue with the literature on migration and crisis, the hypothesis of the study was that migrant populations would lose more jobs due to the pandemic and would be more affected than nationals. In contrast, the data show that the sectoral and occupational allocation of migrants newly settled in Brazil resulted in them having a positive employment balance, even compared to native workers. In addition, we found that the impact of the pandemic was uneven across different groups of migrants, and it depends on economic activity sectors and occupations. This research demystifies the idea that migrants are the first affected by the economic crises. The article brings theoretical contributions from the perspective of south-south migrations.

The Effects of the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis on the Brazilian Labor Market

The Effects of the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis on the Brazilian Labor Market