Complementarities and Continuities in the Political Economy of Labor Markets in Latin America

Abstract

In a comparative institutional or ‘variety of capitalism’ perspective, the distinctive traits of labour markets in Latin America differ in most respects from labour markets in developed countries. Moreover, there are strong economic complementarities among five core features of labour markets in Latin America: low skill levels, high labour regulation, short job tenure, a large informal sector, and small, politicized unions that lack plant level representation. While numerous and strong, economic complementarities among these five components do not tell the whole story, and we analyse additional political complementarities. This integrated perspective on the economic and political interactions helps explain continuities in labour markets in Latin America and their disappointing response in recent decades to market reform and globalization.