Abstract
In recent decades Latin America has experienced a steady and substantial increase in the share of workers characterized by informal employment status. From 1990 to 1997, for instance, the share of informal employment for a group of 14 Latin American countries increased from 51.8 to 57.7 per cent, based on a definition of informal employment used by the International Labour Organization which includes non-agricultural employment in small firms, self-employment and domestic service.2 One reason for concern regarding the growing share of informal employment in Latin America is that such employment is often characterized by poor work conditions, including low labour standards.