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Abramo, L. Desigualdades e discriminação de gênero e raça no mercado de trabalho brasileiro e suas implicações para a formulação de uma política de emprego. ILO, 2004.

The Brazilian labour market is marked by persistent and significant gender and race inequalities and this is an aspect that must be considered in the formulation, implementation and assessment of public policies in general, and in employment, social inclusion and poverty alleviation policies, in particular. This is what the text argues. It is divided in two parts: the first one analyses some indicators of gender and race inequalities in the labour market and the second one presents some indications regarding the need to include the gender and race dimensions in employment policies.

Abramo, L. (Ed.). Trabajo decente y equidad de género en América Latina. (Decent work and gender equity in Latin America). Santiago, Chile: ILO. 2006.

This book intends to contribute to the efforts made to advance towards the definition of policies that may enable gender equity through the promotion of decent work. It gathers the main results of research and activities carried out by ILO experts within the framework of work priorities in Latin America between 1999 and 2005. It evidences the importance of considering the issue of gender equity in the Decent Work Agenda of Latin America. It presents the progress made in terms of the diagnosis of the issue and it indicates the areas into which research should go deeper.

Arriagada, J.; Benítez, O.; Castro M. R.; Cuty Da Silva, J. A.; Garrido, M.; Maciel, G.; Moro, W.; Rey Mendez, M. del P.; Tadeu, J. L.; Varela, M. R. y Xalambri, A. Guía para la implementación de un Sistema de Inspección y Monitoreo del Trabajo Infantil en los países del Mercosur y Chile. (Guide for the implementation of an Inspection and Monitoring System of Child Labour in the countries of Mercosur and Chile). Lima: ILO. IPEC South America Programme, 2003. (Working papers, 169)

This paper works as a Guide for work inspectors. It helps to identify child labour situations and establish priorities and ways to deal with this problem in the most effective way.
The Guide follows the general guidelines included in ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour.
It is structured in five parts: the first one analyses a contextualisation where work inspection and child labour are dealt with; the second one focuses on the conceptual part and the causes and consequences of child labour in terms of health and education; the third one reviews the reference standard framework (Convention on the Rights of the Child and ILO Conventions and Recommendations on Child Labour, Labour Inspection); the fourth one focuses on the role of the inspector and its articulation with other actors and social institutions; and finally, the fifth one refers to the Inspection and Monitoring System and the role of labour administration, strengthening the importance of the tasks of planning, coordination of inspection operations, implementation of urgent measures and forwarding mechanisms to competent institutions.

Brú, E.; Rosal. M.H. Economía informal y trabajo decente en Centroamérica y República Dominicana. (Informal economy and decent work in Central America and Dominican Republic). San Jose, Costa Rica: ILO, 2001.

Education and training play a key role in the fulfilment of economic and social objectives. They are essential to succeed in a globalised environment, where the fact of having human resources with theoretical and practical knowledge contributes to higher competitiveness, and facilitates the ability of enterprises to adapt and produce, thus achieving full personal and social development.
A solid education and training system allows to foster economic and social insertion, by offering opportunities to many people who would otherwise be excluded from the labour market.

Caccliamali, M.C. Mercado de trabajo juvenil: Argentina, Brasil y México. (Youth labour market: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico). ILO. Employment Strategies Department. Unit of Analysis and Research on Employment. 2005. (Employment strategies, 2)

This document carries out a comparative analysis between three countries of the region: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The characteristics and dynamics of labour markets are studied together with the causes of youth unemployment. A growing segmentation has been observed during the past decades in these labour markets, particularly with regards to poor and underqualified youth who suffer from the highest unemployment rates and a higher insertion in low-quality jobs that are poorly paid and usually lack social security protection.
Due to the above, the paper recommends that reforms should be carried out on the educational and training systems as well as in active employment policies. The aim is to enable the poorest to access and stay in the educational system, receive quality education and break with the circle of poverty and informal labour, thus contributing to further social and economic development in these countries.

Campero, G. Macroeconomics reforms, labour markets and labour policies: Chile, 1973-2000. Geneva: ILO, 2004. (Employment strategy papers, 2)

During the 1973-2000 period, Chile undertook an aggressive macroeconomic reforms programme, and alongside, labour market flexibility policies.
This paper analyses the impacts of these reforms on employment; in other words, is economic development a condition in itself to generate quality jobs? Or it is rather necessary to accompany this growth with measures that tend towards sustainable development that reach all sectors of population.
The paper recommends revising the legislation in force and strengthening social dialogue as a means to ensure that economic growth translates into sustainable development.
ansforme en desarrollo sustentable.

Chiappe,M.; García y Santos, R. Participation, productivity and training: The path of the Uruguayan Association of Rural Women - AMRU. Montevideo: Cinterfor/ILO, 2005. 91 p. (Technical office papers, 17)

In order to fight against poverty and promote sustainable and inclusive rural development, it is widely acknowledged that a gender dimension should be adopted together with the articulation with the local productive and social environment. This requires building up networks, bringing into play multiple resources and actors and, above all, devising a global and collective plan of change in which personal, family, productive and socio-political dimensions are closely articulated.
By achieving these objectives, vocational training plays a key role even though its contribution is not always explicit and actors are often unaware of it. By systematising ten years of work of AMRU from the perspective of the processes of change in these four dimensions, this book enables to visualise its contributions and learn and acquire good practices in order to increase labour opportunities, citizenship participation and the quality of life of women and rural families.

Daza, J.L. Informal Economy, Undeclared Work and Labour Administration. Geneva: ILO, June 2005. Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration Department. (Paper N° 9).

Evidence that a large part of the working population in developing countries work outside the parameters established by labour and fiscal laws, and that part of the services and goods produced in industrialized countries are produced clandestinely, has made the informal economy the focus of attention of economic and labour policies. Despite the fact that the informal economy is of universal concern nowadays, the definitions used, the ideas traded, the perception of the phenomenon, its consequences and the solutions proposed to remedy the associated problems are not the same in all parts of the world. The problems surrounding the informal economy can be addressed from many points of view, but when dealing with informality and work, there emerges a human dimension which forces us to think about people's conditions of work. For the International Labour Organization, whose mission is to improve the working conditions of people worldwide, the treatment of informality is intended to promote opportunities of decent work for all.

Daza, J.L. Labour inspection and the informal economy. Labour Education: The global challenges of labour inspection, Geneva, ILO, n. 2005/3-4, Number 140-141. p. 16-22.

This article aims to provide a practical account of the labour inspectorate role within the informal economy. It starts by examining the concept of labour inspection and the standards that the inspectorates have to monitor. It then explains the notion of the informal economy, describing the various situations in which informal enterprises and workers find themselves and how these relate to labour standards. Next, it looks at how labour inspectorates fulfil their roles in various informal labour situations. Finally, there is an analysis of the problems that the informal economy.

Fernández Pacheco, J. Gender and labour market: Honduras and Nicaragua. San Jose, Costa Rica: ILO, 2002. (Gender, Poverty and Employment Project in Latin America)

The studies contained in this document aspire to contribute to gender crosscutting in the elimination of poverty and employment policies in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Flores Medina, R.; Vega Segoin, L.; Cáceres López, C.; Ruiz Sánchez, I. El trabajo Infantil doméstico en hogares de terceros en Colombia: la invisibilidad del riesgo. Diagnóstico sociocultural, económico y legislativo. (Child domestic work in other people's homes in Colombia: an invisible risk. Social, cultural, economic and legal diagnosis). Lima: ILO. IPEC South America, 2002. (Working papers, 163)

This piece of research seeks to identify the characteristics of child labour in Colombia, the features related to culture, family, geographic area and the activity sector where children perform as workers.
Following a review on the policies that focus on this issue, both at a national and international level, going through the ILO Conventions in this area, the intention is to establish coordinated policies and actions between the State, civil society organisations, and other bodies and organisations engaged in this topic so as to prevent and eradicate child labour from the Colombian society.

Flores Medina, R.; Vega Segoin,L.; Cáceres López, P.; Ruiz Sánchez, I. Perú Invisible y sin derechos: aproximación al perfil del trabajo infantil doméstico. Lima: OIT. IPEC Sudamérica, 2002. (Documentos de Trabajo, 162)

Este documento se basa en una investigación realizada en Perú a fin de cuantificar el trabajo infantil en este país, el entorno en el cual viven y trabajan estos niños y niñas.
En Perú, este proceso indagador ha sido acompañado por una amplia red de instituciones y organizaciones. Los estudios temáticos nacionales sobre los aspectos legislativos, las políticas sociales y oferta institucional constituyen importantes insumos para completar el análisis del espectro y contextualizar las recomendaciones hacia el quehacer institucional a fin de que, de forma coordinada entre gobiernos, empleadores y trabajadores adultos, actúen de forma inmediata a fin de prevenir y eliminar esta perversa forma de explotación de la niñez.

Forastieri, V. Prestar servicios de seguridad y salud en el trabajo a los trabajadores del agro. (Rendering occupational safety and health services to rural workers). ILO. Safework. ILO Programme on Occupational Safety and Health in Agriculture. A challenge for the 21st Century.

This document studies employment in agriculture, the condition under which rural workers carry out their activities, the deficiencies in terms of occupational safety and health, the difficulties to access training and incorporate technical changes, and the lack of legislation that protects the rights of freelance and seasonal workers in most of the countries of the region.
Finally, it presents ILO's programme on agriculture implemented in Central America. Its aim is to improve the working conditions of this sector and promote occupational safety and health among its workers.

Galli, R.; Kucera, D. Informal employment in Latin America: Movements over business cycles and the effects of worker rights. Geneva: IILS, 2003. (Discussion paper, 145)

This paper addresses three central issues in the debates on informal employment: trends in informalization, informal employment as a macroeconomic buffer over business cycles, and the effects of higher labour standards and stronger de facto worker rights on informal employment. In particular, we address the hypothesis that stronger "civic rights" - such as freedom of association and collective bargaining rights - and higher wage shares in the formal sector reduce employment in that sector and thereby contribute to informalization.
These issues are explored using panel data on specific categories of formal and informal employment for fourteen Latin American countries in the 1990s, evaluating both cross-country and time series variation. In the context of an increasing share of informal employment in the 1990s, we find evidence that informal employment acted as a cyclical buffer for formal employment. Regarding labour standards, our main finding is that countries with stronger "civic rights" tend to have higher shares of formal employment and lower shares of informal employment, even accounting for per capita income and other control variables.

Harriss White, B. Inequality at work in the informal economy: Key issues and illustrations. International Labour Review. Geneva, ILO. v.142, n.4, 2003.

In many countries, laws forbidding discrimination at work reach a tiny minority of the workforce, using crudely essentialized categories like colour or sex. In practice, however, discrimination is a complex expression of social regulation and, ultimately, identity, which determines the ideologies and norms that both employers and employees default to in the absence of state regulation (e.g. caste, race, religion). The forms of authority through which identities are created and evolve originate outside the economy and operate both outside it and inside it. Against this background, Harriss-White looks at how institutional actors and market forces can address discrimination at work.

Heikel, M.V. Dimensión de la pobreza y relaciones de género en el sector rural. (Poverty dimensions and gender relations in the rural sector). In: Valenzuela, M. E. (Ed.) Employment policies to overcome poverty: Paraguay. Santiago, Chile: ILO, 2004. Chapter III. ILO, 2004. Project on Gender, poverty and employment in Latin America.

This study intends to contribute to the identification of factors related to gender inequity that have an influence on rural poverty, within the framework of the Project on the Incorporation of the Gender Dimension into Public Poverty Alleviation Policies and Employment Generation in Latin America, developed by the International Labour Office (ILO) in six countries of the region (Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru). This project has worked in Paraguay in different areas and with different partners, oriented to the elaboration of tools to strengthen the approach on poverty alleviation policies directed to women by taking strategic measures that pursue equal opportunities for them in rural areas.

Along the same lines of the previous document and within the framework of the "Homeworkers in the Global Economy" project, this paper studies homeworkers in Paraguay.
A review on the literature and the Paraguayan legislation and an analysis on the perception of governments and employers' and employees' organisations are included.
The research seeks to describe this work modality based on a selection of enterprises that hire homeworkers. The idea is to find out how production is organised, how many workers are hired, their pay, services and benefits.

Henríquez, H.; Riquelme, V.; Gálvez, T.; Selamé, T. Home work in Chile: past and present results of a national survey. Geneva: ILO, 2001. (SEED Working Paper, 8)

In Chile, home work has been made progressively more vulnerable to successive legislative changes. This research takes up former studies that describe the work conditions of these people in the different activity sectors where we can find this work modality. The report is rich on the management of statistics about the main characteristics of these workers.

Herrera Valencia, B.; Sepúlveda, JM. Relaciones laborales en Centroamérica, informalidad y empleo decente. (Labour relations in Central America. Informality and decent work). San Jose, Costa Rica: ILO. ACTRAV, 2003.

This document makes a comparative analysis on labour relations in several Central American countries. It studies the actors that take part in collective bargaining. It further observes the most relevant variables of the labour market providing information regarding employment by sector and distinguishing between formal and informal activity. Special emphasis is placed on labour relations as a means to promote decent work by reducing informal labour.

Hussmanns, R. Measuring the informal economy : From employment in the informal sector to informal employment. Geneva: ILO, 2004. (Working paper N° 53)

The development of statistics on the informal economy helps to improve labour statistics and national accounts. The informal economy plays an important role for employment creation, income generation and poverty reduction in many countries, especially developing and transition countries. Statistics on the informal economy are needed as an evidence-based tool for research and policy-making. They enhance the visibility of many workers in the informal economy and of their economic contribution.
The purpose of the present working paper is (i) to explain the international statistical definitions of employment in the informal sector and of informal employment, which were adopted by the Fifteenth and Seventeenth International Conferences of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in January 1993 and December 2003, and (ii) to illustrate the practical application in household surveys of these definitions in providing examples of their translation into survey questions.

Huws, H.; Podro, S. Employment of homeworkers: Examples of good practice. Geneva: ILO, 1995. (CONDI/ WP. 5)

The employment and working conditions of homeworkers, including home-based teleworkers, tend to be inferior to those enjoyed by other workers doing similar work in the enterprise setting. This is often due to the lack of adequate labour legislation and collective agreements which take into account the special circumstances under which home work is carried out.
This working paper provides an overview of the most important aspects of employment and working conditions of homeworkers, including home-based teleworkers, and of the legal provisions that exist in different countries.
It also gives concrete examples of how such provisions can be best applied in practice or, in the absence of specific regulations, of what would constitute good practice.
Good practice is referred to safety and health, training, appropriate use of technology, unemployment pay, hours of work, pay and pensions, among others. They all tend to even up this group of workers' work conditions with those of workers in an enterprise setting.

ILO. Decent Work and the Informal Economy: Abstracts of working papers. Geneva: Employment Sector, 2002.

Describes the informal economy and highlights its decent work deficit. Proposes an integrated strategy to address underlying causes of informality and to promote decent work in all sectors of the economy, from formal to informal.

ILO. Decent work for women. An ILO proposal to accelerate de implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. St Petersburg, 2000.

ILO. Local Employment in the Informal Economy: Course Guide for Staff in Local Governments and Partnership Organizations. Geneva, 2001.

Municipalities in cities of the developing world are faced with the challenge of creating employment for growing numbers of city-dwellers. This five-day course for local government officials and partner organizations recognises the important role played by the urban informal economy and emphasises the need to ensure that labour rights are respected within it. It is intended to improve the capacity of small enterprises to provide decent employment. It shows how employment-intensive strategies can ensure incomes for large numbers of citizens while enabling governments to procure goods and services locally. Issues such as gender equality, social protection, job quality and association building for improved representation are blended with strategies to enhance productive employment through small enterprise development.

ILO. Seventeenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians. General Report. Geneva, 24 November-3 December 2003. See specifically section 3.1 on Statistics of informal employment, page 47.

ILO. Women in the informal economy: Urgent need for maternity protection. World of Work: ILO Magazine. Global labour agreements: A framework for rights. Geneva. N° 45, December 2002. p. 18-19. Link to ILO's web site.

For millions of women in the developing world, maternity health care is almost unavailable. For millions more, other maternity benefits are even harder to get. Through an ILO research initiative, innovative ways of providing maternity protection to poor women in the informal economy are being promoted.

ILO. Perú: Propuesta del Programa Nacional de Trabajo Decente, 2004- 2006. Informe Preliminar. (Peru: A proposal made by the National Programme for Decent Work 2004-2006. Preliminary Report). Lima: ILO Subregional Office for the Andean countries, 2003.

This document is structured in four large parts: in the first one, the main deficits of decent work in Peru are identified, in the second one, policies for the reduction of the detected decent work deficits are presented. Then, the third one introduces the criteria to set priority objectives and finally a short and medium-term plan of activities is outlined to be implemented in the country.

ILO. Políticas de empleo en Chile y América Latina. Seminario en honor de Víctor Tokman. (Employment policies in Chile and Latin America. Seminar to honour Víctor Tokman). Santiago, Chile: ILO, 2003.

This publication gathers the presentations made at a seminar that took place in 2001 to pay homage to Víctor E. Tokman after his retirement from the International Labour Organisation.
The book has four chapters which present each of the panels of the seminar: "employment policies", "informal sector: concept, mediation and policies", "employment and social debt: income and poverty distribution" and "effectiveness of active employment policies". The richness of these discussions together with the comments made during the seminar motivated this paper to be published.

ILO. Working in the "Zona franca" Low-quality jobs for women: Opportunities or dead-ends? World of Work. Geneva. n. 29, April-May 1999. p. 22-23.

New employment opportunities within so-called "free zones" and "export processing zones (EPZs)" can help women rebuild their lives as well as their country's economy after wars or natural disasters. In the Dominican Republic and other developing countries, increasing numbers of women are finding work in the zones as well as through micro-enterprises and micro-financing. Still, a new job does not always imply a better life; new work is not always good work. This report examines the experience of one woman who found work, as well as other trends affecting low-quality jobs for women today.

ILO. Uruguay: empleo y protección social; de la crisis al crecimiento. (Uruguay: employment and social protection; from the crisis to growth). Santiago, Chile: ILO, 2005.

This book shows the situation of the labour market and social protection in Uruguay since 1990, and it studies the achievements and limitations of different institutions and policies with regards to giving answers to the changes occurred and to the crisis. This analysis presents elements that contribute to the debate of social actors and technicians on a new employment and social protection policy based on sustainable development.

ILO/ACTRAV. Union education for informal workers in Latin America. In:. Unprotected labour: What role for unions in the informal economy? Labour Education 2002/2, n. 127.

Over the past two decades, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and its regional organization for the Americas (ICFTU-ORIT) have launched trade union education programmes aimed at informal workers, and have made considerable progress on defining this group. The ILO's focus on the informal economy has been of help in this.

ILO/ACTRAV. Beyond survival - organizing the informal economy. Geneva:

ILO/ACTRAV. Trade unions and the informal sector. Towards a comprehensive strategy. Geneva: Document taken from ILO's Bureau of Workers' Activities (ACTRAV).

ILO. The Fifteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians. Geneva, 1993. Resolution concerning statistics of employment in the informal sector. Geneva, 1993.

ILO. Seventeenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians. Geneva, 2003. General Report. Chapter on informal employment statistics. Geneva, 2003.

ILO. International Labour Conference, 90th Session. Geneva, 2002. Decent work and the informal economy. Report VI. Geneva, 2002.

ILO.Report of the Committee on the Informal Economy. Final report of the Committee on the Informal Economy at the 90th International Labour Conference of June 2002.

ILO. International Labour Conference, 90th Session. Geneva, 2002. Resolution concerning decent work and the informal economy. Geneva, 2002.

ILO. International Labour Conference, 91st Session. Geneva, 2003. Time for equality at work. Global report under the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Report I (B). Geneva, 2003.

ILO. International Labour Conference, 93rd Session. Geneva, 2005. Youth employment: pathways to decent work. Report VI. Geneva, 2005.

This report presents a general overview of the employment situation of young people and the social and economic factors that facilitate or hinder the access to decent work. The report examines the initiatives adopted at a national level and outlines a series of key lessons to design efficient policies and programmes. In addition, it shows the ILO's contributions to their leaders in order to promote decent work, focusing on the approaches and instruments that have been, or could be, proved useful.

ILO. Protection of workers' personal data. An ILO Code of practice. ILO, 1997.

Employers collect personal data on job applicants and workers for a number of purposes: to comply with law; to assist in selection for employment, training and promotion; to ensure personal safety, personal security, quality control, customer service and the protection of property. Various national laws and international standards have established binding procedures for the processing of personal data. Computerized retrieval techniques, automated personnel information systems, electronic monitoring, genetic screening and drug testing illustrate the need to develop data protection provisions which specifically address the use of workers' personal data in order to safeguard the dignity of workers, protect their privacy and guarantee their fundamental right to determine who may use which data for what purposes and under what conditions.
The purpose of this code of practice is to provide guidance on the protection of worker's personal data. This code does not have binding force. It does not replace national laws, regulations, international labour standards or other accepted standards. It can be used in the development of legislation, regulations, collective agreements, work rules, policies and practical measures.

ILO. Sixteenth American Regional Meeting. Brasilia, May 2006. Decent work in the Americas: an agenda for the hemisphere, 2006-2015. Report of the Director General. Geneva: ILO, 2006.

ILO. The Local Economic Development Agency - Central America. IDEASS - Innovations for Development and South-South Cooperation. Geneva, 2003.

This document describes the efficiency of Local Economic Development Agencies as an instrument capable of achieving objectives. LEDAs are independent organisations, shaped by public and private institutions, with the aim of implementing strategies of shared territorial development, with particular emphasis on favouring access for the most marginal portions of a population to opportunities of income and decent employment. These agencies value the social capital of local actors and economic potential by promoting and developing micro and small entrepreneurs and cooperatives. All of this favours territorial competition, and, at the same time encourages social inclusion.

ILO/ETM PA. Turismo sostenible con comunidades indígenas. Mercado y sostenibilidad. (Sustainable tourism with indigenous communities. Market and sustainability). Lima: ILO. Technical Multidisciplinary Team of the Andean Countries, 2001. (Working Paper, 138)

This document is the Report on the Workshop Seminar "Sustainable Tourism with Indigenous Communities", carried out between 23 and 24 July 2001 in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. It sought to make a reflection and a debate on the challenges, potential and risks implied by the promotion of this activity in indigenous communities.
The event is framed within the promotion of the application of Convention Nº 169, which acknowledges, grants and promotes the fundamental rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples, among which we find their economic and labour rights.
The activities cover three countries of the Andean region: Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, countries with multiple points in common in terms of their historical origins and cultural characteristics.
Tourism can become a crucial component in local economic development in favour of indigenous communities and the villages they live in. In order for this to take place, state policies that address the specific needs of rural communities must be designed. They should provide them with the necessary incentives to move their own resources and skills and establish a legal and institutional framework that favours all actors: communities, private enterprises and local and national government should cooperate to achieve a common objective: the competitiveness and sustainability of the tourism sector.

ILO. IPEC. Guidelines for the Construction of a Holistic Care Model for Children and Adolescents in Domestic Labour.
San José, Costa Rica, International Labour Office, 2005.

These guidelines for the construction of a care model fall within the framework of the experience accumulated by ILO’s interventions in Latin America and result from the initiative of the Sub-regional Project “Prevention and Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Central America and the Dominican Republic”, which is being carried out under the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). Boys and girls working as domestic help in the homes of a third person constitute a large proportion of child and adolescent workers around the world. Among girls, domestic labour is the most common form of employment, whether paid or not. Child domestic labour has very deep cultural roots, which have provided it a degree of legitimacy, naturalising it and making it invisible as a type of exploitation. In this sense, girls and boys in domestic labour are among the

ILO/PROMICRO. Memoria del Taller ¿Cómo incorporar el enfoque de género en la promoción microempresarial? (Report on workshop: How to incorporate the gender approach into the promotion of microenterprises). Managua, 2001

This document is the result of the work done during the workshop. It includes a review on the institutional and structural changes that occurred in the subregion and led to further gender equity.
It examines the characteristics of the undertaking experiences carried out by a group of women together with the need to achieve a better understanding and more commitment regarding the promotion of equality between men and women. It is utterly necessary to develop the skills required to include these issues in programmes and projects that promote the microenterprise.

ILO/PROMICRO. La microempresa en América Central. (The microenterprise in Central America). San Jose, Costa Rica, 2000.

This document intends to describe urban microenterprises in Central America. Based on the data obtained, it can be said that they are extremely poor productive units whose main rationale is probably family consumption. It refers to self-employment and to a group of economic units with a very inadequate insertion in the labour market, particularly of non-tradable products, and with little chances of competing in a globalised market. In accordance with this, PROMICRO sets the lines of action through the services required by these economic units so as to support their economic growth development.

Infante, R. ; Sunkel, G. Chile. Trabajo decente y calidad de vida familiar, 1990-2000. (Chile. Decent Work and quality of family life. 1999-2000). Lima: ILO, 2004.

The purpose of this book is to contribute to the understanding of relations between decent work and the quality of family life. In particular, it follows one of the objectives suggested by ILO regarding the promotion of labour policies and institutions that encourage dialogue among social partners and advance towards decent work.
It explores the compatibility between work in the productive environment and the quality of family life and social life of workers. The study analyses Chile's experience during the nineties, a successful period in terms of economic growth, where poverty was reduced and important changes at the family and labour structure level took place.

Islas, G. Sistemas de protección a desempleados en los países de la OEA. (Protection systems for the unemployed in the countries of the OAS). Santiago, Chile: ILO, 2002. (Working paper, 151).

This paper describes unemployment as an intrinsic characteristic of the way in which modern economies work, apart from being an economic and social problem.
Unemployment insurances have an effect on the labour market's mechanism since it generates new incentives both for employers and workers. The challenge proposed by the author is to find ways to offer appropriate protection to the unemployed without creating distortions in the decisions of the labour market's participants.
By analysing the Latin American experience in connection with the systems of protection for the unemployed, the author concludes that it is very scarce compared to that of developed countries. This is due to the specific characteristics of Latin American labour markets, such as high informality and high levels of youth unemployment.

Jelin, E.; Mercado, M.; Wyczykier, G. Home work in Argentina. Geneva: ILO, 200. (SEED Working Paper, 6)

This paper explores the institutional aspects and situation of workers (particularly in the area of the Capital and Greater Buenos Aires).

Lavinas, L.; Sorj, B.; Linhares, L.; Jorge, A.. Home work in Brazil: new contractual arrangements. Geneva: ILO, 2001. (SEED Working Paper, 7)

One of the main objectives of this document is to describe home work in Brazil by trying to understand it, see its trends and outline possible policies.
In addition to the description of these workers, the perceptions and attitudes of governments and of employers' and employees' organisations are examined to provide a better understanding on this issue.

Marshall, A. Labour market policies and regulations in Argentina, Brasil, Mexico. Programmes and impacts. Geneva: ILO, 2004. (Employment strategy papers, 13)

This document makes a comparative study on the impact of economic and labour reforms on the different labour markets of three countries of the region: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
It particularly studies such impact on employment generation. It concludes that the changes in labour regulations and the flexibility of the labour market with the outsourcing of production processes did not produce any increase in the quality of employment; rather, we can observe more growth in the informal economy, both of informal workers and informal productive units.

ILO/PROMICRO. Memoria del Taller ¿Cómo incorporar el enfoque de género en la promoción microempresarial? (Report on workshop: How to incorporate the gender approach into the promotion of microenterprises). Managua, 2001

This document is the result of the work done during the workshop. It includes a review on the institutional and structural changes that occurred in the subregion and led to further gender equity.
It examines the characteristics of the undertaking experiences carried out by a group of women together with the need to achieve a better understanding and more commitment regarding the promotion of equality between men and women. It is utterly necessary to develop the skills required to include these issues in programmes and projects that promote the microenterprise.

ILO/PROMICRO. La microempresa en América Central. (The microenterprise in Central America). San Jose, Costa Rica, 2000.

This document intends to describe urban microenterprises in Central America. Based on the data obtained, it can be said that they are extremely poor productive units whose main rationale is probably family consumption. It refers to self-employment and to a group of economic units with a very inadequate insertion in the labour market, particularly of non-tradable products, and with little chances of competing in a globalised market. In accordance with this, PROMICRO sets the lines of action through the services required by these economic units so as to support their economic growth development.

Orsatti, Á.; Calle, R. La situación de los trabajadores de la economía informal en el Cono Sur y el área Andina. (The situation of workers in the informal economy in the Southern Cone and the Andean region). Lima: ILO; ACTRAV, 2004. 183 p. (Working papers, 179). Project on Trade unions and decent work in the age of globalisation in Latin America.

This paper reviews the situation of 80 million workers who work in the informal sector. Many of them are merely surviving, they lack social protection and they have no labour rights. It goes deeper into the debate about the precise meaning of the terms "informal economy", which is so often discussed. It reviews the process of finding alternatives undergone by the ILO, highlighting the proposals bolstered by the Bureau of Workers' Activities (ACTRAV).

Palmer, R. Skills and productivity in the informal economy. ILO. Skills and Employability Department. Geneva: 2008
79 p. (Employment Sector working paper, no.5)

Given the phenomenal growth of the informal economy in the past three decades it was considered necessary to examine the linkages between skills and productivity in the context of the informal economy so as to inform the relevant chapters of the ILC Report, in particular those relating to developing countries. Indeed, the informal economy represents the primary destination for both out-of-school and school graduates in most developing countries. It often provides both skills training opportunities and a possibility of finding, or creating livelihoods. Skills development is one of the key determinants of how, and for whom, productivity growth translates into employment growth, into better work in the informal economy and to movement from the informal to formal economies.

Pipa, M.E. (Coord.). Generación de empleo e ingresos para mujeres pobres urbanas en tres países andinos: Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú. Experiencias en el Perú. (Employment generation and income for poor urban women in three Andean countries: Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Experiences in Peru.) Lima: ILO, 2002. (Working paper, 157).

This document gathers four experiences developed in Peru for the promotion of employment for women by favouring microenterprises. To implement this project, work was carried out in coordination with representative organisations of urban women groups.
The four experiences described in the document warn about the need to start a strong training process directed to women. This process should address and enhance their personal abilities, develop their most competitive technical skills and improve aspects related to management and negotiation. The idea is to ensure productive jobs with fair salaries that favour gender equity in the spaces of social and economic participation of women.

Ramírez Guerrero, J. Capacitación Laboral para el Sector Informal en Colombia. (Labour training for the informal sector in Colombia). Geneva: ILO, 2002.

This document reviews the policies and programmes that have been implemented in Colombia during the last years in terms of labour training for workers and productive units of the informal economy. The author highlights the fact that the informal sector is outdated in terms of employment and training policies in Colombia, and it has been replaced by the concept of microenterprise, which, according to him, creates problems at the time of designing policies and focusing on programmes.
The study is centred upon a particularly significant experience of the Colombian efforts to train in the informal economy: the National Plan for the Development of the Microenterprise (PNMD). The paper tackles the process of institutional construction that has taken place in this field, with partnerships with organisations of the civil society and governmental institutions.
The training efforts of the PNMD focus on two areas: business training and technological development services. The study analyses both types of action, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses and stressing the fact that the internal heterogeneity of the micro entrepreneurial sector has forced the development of differential strategies.

Revilla Vergara, A.F. La modernización del sector informal y las cargas tributarias y administrativas a las empresas en el Perú. (The modernisation of the informal sector and the tax and administrative burden for enterprises in Peru). Labour Bulletin. Lima, ILO. n. 92, 1999.

This paper revises the administrative and tax charges that affect Peruvian enterprises. The purpose is to identify the unnecessary costs to which they are subject. Their elimination would facilitate the process of bringing many informal enterprises to formality and it would reduce the transaction costs for both formal and informal enterprises.
The changes occurred in terms of taxes, fiscal policies and their effects on collection and informalization are studied. Finally, it suggests reforms at various levels: fiscal policies, collection agents and tax controls.

Robles, M. El empleo en el Paraguay. Evidencias de las encuestas de hogares. (Employment in Paraguay. Evidence shown by home surveys). ILO, UNDP, 2002.

The paper analyses the macroeconomic changes undergone by Paraguay and the repercussions they had on the labour market. It particularly sought to establish the mechanisms that helped adjust the Paraguayan labour market after the macroeconomic results of the last years. It studied the "survival strategies" of homes that lacked income and/or employment; apart from analysing unemployment from the perspective of duration and the factors that influence the chance of being unemployed.

Rosal García, M.H. La formación profesional como puente para el empleo y la inserción laboral de los jóvenes: perspectiva de la cooperación internacional. (Vocational training as a bridge to employment and labour participation of young people: international cooperation perspective). Lima, ILO. 1997.

This document analyses the labour participation of young people and vocational training as a bridge to employment. It studies the problems of young people and employment in the region, the new emerging institutionality and it makes a brief description of the model and the kind of training required to meet the new demands of the productive system.
Once these characteristics have been presented, we can establish the current link between training and employment and the future articulations and perspectives of this relationship.

Rosal García, M. H.; Rodríguez Román, J. Las características y la pertinencia de la educación técnica, la educación de adultos, la capacitación y formación profesional en Centroamérica, México, Panamá y República Dominicana. (The characteristics and the relevance of technical education, adult education, training and vocational training in Central America, Mexico, Panama and Dominican Republic). San Jose, Costa Rica: ILO, 2001. (Working paper, 135).

This paper presents a research on the technical education and vocational training provided by different agents for several Latin American countries. It begins by pointing out that changes in the needs of the formal sector and those created by the broadening and growth of the informal economy have to be taken into account in the design of policies and transformations in the training provided by various agents.
It presents an overall vision on the sub regional situation, the situation of the Ministries of Education and Technical and Adult Education, as well as that of Ministries of Labour and VTIs. It also gives an overview of the private sector that provides training. It finishes by making a summary of the main conclusions drawn from the research.
Finally, it exposes a vision on the structural context of the sub region, with its main indicators and variables and the general features of Vocational Training, Technical Education, Adult Education and Training for Work.

Skills and competencies for the informal sector in Latin America: a review of the literature on training programmes and methodologies. Gallart, M. A. Inter-American Technical Bulletin on Vocational Training. Training in the informal economy. Montevideo, Cinterfor. N° 155, Dec. 2003. p. 33-75

The objective of this document is to revise, select and analyse the bibliographic material produced in Latin America since 1990 to the present. Such material is concerned with the necessary competencies and qualifications of the informal sector of economy and the activities developed to train the current or future workers of the sector. The analysis will identify policies, programmes and methodologies implemented, the actors involved, the assessment of their results and their specific characteristics due to gender, age or region.

Tokman, V. Una voz en el camino. Empleo y equidad en América Latina: 40 años de búsqueda. (A voice on the way. Employment and equity in Latin America: 40 years of search). Santiago, Chile: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2004. 389 p.

This publication is a useful tool to draw some lessons from the past, to analyse the present and orient the new generation of researchers, policy designers and actors with decision-taking power to carry out the task of building or rebuilding new, fairer and more equal Latin American societies.

Tokman, V. (Coord.) De la informalidad a la modernidad. (From informality to modernity). Santiago, Chile: ILO, 2001. 258p.

By a comparative analysis among countries, this publication tackles several issues such as the labour and tax legislation and its impact on microenterprises; the town council and street vendors; special regimes of institutional promotion and development; informal urban microenterprises and their integration; and small and microenterprise trade unions in the countries of the region.
Furthermore, it presents conclusions and recommendations of the studies conducted in several countries so that they may contribute to further integration between public authorities and micro entrepreneurs and workers from the informal sector. The purpose is to promote the incorporation of the sector into the structures and economic and social processes through the access to formality.

Tokman, V.; Martínez, D. Costo laboral manufacturero: incidencia sobre competitividad y la protección de los trabajadores. (Manufacturing labour cost: the influence on competitiveness and worker protection). Lima: ILO, 1996. (Working paper, 46).

This paper begins by making a study of the changes in the organisation of work undergone by the enterprises of the region: their greater degree of flexibility, which supports the idea that these changes would bring further productivity of enterprises. Some of the changes in labour legislation during the last few years have been oriented towards reducing labour costs. The main argument to support this is that the labour component is an important element of the total cost of production and therefore if there are reductions (in social charges and labour taxes) then enterprises which benefit from such a policy will improve their competitiveness.
In this context the authors ask themselves the following questions. Is it necessary to reduce labour costs in order to make enterprises more productive? Does political orientation followed by the current labour costs affect the systems of worker protection?
The following chapters will analyse this double question regarding five Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru.

Torrado, M.C.; Duran, E.; Álvarez, L.; Vargas, E.; Wliches, R. Análisis de la política nacional frente al trabajo infantil en Colombia 1995- 2002. (Study on national policy regarding child labour in Colombia 1995-2002). Bogotá: ILO. IPEC, 2003. (Working papers, 159).

This document carries out a historical analysis of national policies on the eradication of child labour and the protection of young workers in Colombia. It points out the progress and achievements obtained in different areas, as well as the obstacles and difficulties encountered in the fight against child labour.
Among such achievements we find the efforts of employers' and workers' organisations to raise their members' awareness on the subject, the increased specialisation of NGOs in the intervention in this field, the efforts of local and regional governments to further disseminate and raise awareness on this issue in the society, the experiences of intervention in key areas such as the commercial sexual exploitation of children, artisan mining work and commercial agriculture, in addition to a better qualification of public institutions regarding this issue.
Limitations are found when it comes to measuring impacts and quantifying public resources allotted to the objective of eradicating child labour.

Trejos Solórzano, J.D.; del Cid, M. Decent Work and the informal economy in Central America. Geneva: ILO, 2003. Policy Integration Department. (Working Paper N° 7)

This document contains some measurement exercises and an analysis on the informal sector carried out in different countries of the region. It determines the dimension of employment in such segment, the characteristics of the labour force and the indicators on their employment conditions, such as salaries, income, working days, etc. In this way, it seeks to offer some evidence about the conditions of decent work in the informal sector, by taking into account its heterogeneity. Finally, it includes some challenges posed to employment policies regarding this sector.

Valenzuela, M.E.; Rangel, M. (Coord.) Desigualdades entrecruzadas: pobreza, género, etnia y raza en América Latina. (Criss-crossed inequalities: poverty, gender, ethnicity and race in Latin America). Santiago, Chile: ILO, 2004. 175p. ILO, 2004. Project on Gender, poverty and employment in Latin America.

This paper incorporates the ethnic-racial dimension to the study of poverty from a gender perspective. It analyses the inequality patterns faced by indigenous and African descendant groups in Latin America. It gives the background and reflects upon the way in which these patterns are expressed in the labour market. It also identifies the mechanisms by which gender subordination pervades all these aspects.
The studies presented here illustrate the interactions between gender, labour market, ethnicity and race as converging analysis plans that show the need for integrated approaches in order for employment and poverty relief policies to advance effectively towards the objective of social justice.

Valenzuela, M.E. Informality and Gender in Latin America. Geneva: ILO, August, 2005. Policy Integration Department. (Working Paper, N° 60)

Informality has been a topic of interest in Latin America for decades. Only more recently, however, has its important gender dimension been more deeply explored. This Working Paper makes a valuable contribution to the debate over informality, which is seen alternatively as an opportunity for promising business start-ups and a poverty trap. With the spotlight on microenterprises, the author's insights reveal a more complex reality with important gender differences.

Verdera, F. Homeworkers in Perú. Ginebra: OIT, 2000. (SEED Working Paper, 3)

This document carries out a case study to describe homeworkers in Peru. It also takes up case studies that examine the characteristics of these workers and their ateliers, many of which are organised in micro or small enterprises, and their links with the activity sector for which they work.

Vaillancourt-Laflamme, C. Trade unions and informal workers' associations in the urban informal economy of Ecuador. Geneva: ILO, 2005. Policy Integration Department (Working Paper N° 57)

This paper addresses the issue of representation and voice of informal workers, or more broadly vulnerable workers, in the context of the urban informal economy in Ecuador. The focus of the research was chosen because of the increasing number of informal workers and the decent work deficits these workers face on a day to day basis. Prominent among
these many deficits is representation and voice - of critical importance as the base of many other labour and civic rights.
This paper focuses on the specific situation of Ecuador, a country where more than 50% of the population works in vulnerable, mostly informal, employment situations. This country also has an important indigenous population, close to 40% of the population, which may well impact on the way these workers conceptualize their situation and form groups to
better it.