Abstract
The paper uses panel data for up to ten Latin America countries for the period 1990-2000 to analyse whether informal employment functions as a cyclic buffer for formal employment as well as whether women's employment functions as a cyclic buffer for men's employment. The paper also evaluates related patterns and trends of men and women's representation in formal and informal employment, using three different definitions of informality, including addressing informal employment within formal establishments based on whether workers have social security coverage.