Economía de la Informalidad Conferencia 2020: Dia 1

Abstract

In this first section of the Economy of Informality Conference 2020 event, the following contributions were inaugurated and presented: Inaugural (0:00:00 - 0:16:09) by José Alejandro Cheyne (Rector of the Universidad del Rosario ); Juan José Echavarría (General Manager, Banco de la República); Carlos Eduardo Sepúlveda Rico (Dean of the School of Economics, Universidad del Rosario) - Keynote Speaker: Informality, before, during and beyond COVID-19 (0:16:39 - 1:46:29) Presentation by Mariano Bosch ( Lead Specialist in the Labor Markets and Safety Unit, IDB), Moderator Carlos Medina - Launch of the Laboratory of Experimental Economics - REBEL for its acronym in English. (1:46:48 - 1:52:50) by José Alejandro Cheyne (Rector of the Universidad del Rosario) and Sergio Pulgarín (Vice-Rector of the Universidad del Rosario). - This was one of the conclusions of the first day of the Informal Economy Conference, held by the Faculty of Economics of the Universidad del Rosario. According to the IDB, 26.59 million jobs have been lost in eleven Latin American countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Informal work is considered one of the global problems that affect society. Currently, it seeks to advance in a more inclusive economy, giving visibility to the problems that afflict the country, for example, that the percentage of informal workers oscillates at 50%, with a higher incidence in women and people with lower incomes. This was indicated by Juan José Echavarría, general manager of the Banco de la República, who assured that the situation of informality implies that workers are excluded from labor laws and social security schemes. In addition, the current contingency of the coronavirus generates specific risks that aggravate their situation. Speaking at the Informal Economy Conference, organized by the Faculty of Economics of the Universidad del Rosario, Echavarría said that informal workers are particularly vulnerable to economic and health crises, due to the closure due to the quarantines they have suffered, not only to Colombia, but to different countries in the world. "Facing the challenge of informality during the recovery from the health crisis will require comprehensive policies that take into account the specific conditions of the territory, its populations and their living conditions," noted the Issuer's manager. The paradox of human talent For José Alejandro Cheyne, rector of the Universidad del Rosario, informality has serious problems regarding the challenge of COVID-19, since it is the result of what is known in Latin America as the paradox of human talent, where labor is surpassed, But there is a deficit in talent, since entrepreneurs and organizations say that the people who need them cannot find them in the market of the main cities. Informality, according to Cheyne, is the result of the inequality that exists in the country in different variables such as education, use and appropriation of technology and job opportunities. To understand informality, Carlos Eduardo Sepúlveda, dean of the Faculty of Economics at the Universidad del Rosario, explained that this conference is part of a scientific space that was born from the idea of ​​creating a large-scale program on economic informality in the country . This program has the alliance of 18 national and international institutions of a public and private educational nature, productive unions and foundations. Financed with resources from the Colombia Científica program and coordinated by the Colombian Ministry of Science and Technology, a scientific ecosystem was created to study the problem of economic informality. According to Sepúlveda, this project seeks to directly impact national public policy and transform the realities of the populations and communities studied. Jobs lost due to the pandemic For Mariano Bosch, head of the Labor Markets and Social Security Unit of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), companies and governments must look for alternatives and incentives so that the informal economy can decrease. From the development and productivity of the countries, new alternatives of formal employment are generated that would help to reduce the informality rates in the country. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 26.59 million jobs have been lost in eleven Latin American countries from February 21 to October, according to the IDB. For this reason, the elements that revolve around social protection must be rethought. For example, reduce the entry costs of contributors, ensure that companies comply with labor rights and generate more formal jobs with cost alternatives with respect to taxes that they must pay, said the expert. According to Bosch, Colombia, unlike Mexico, forces workers to contribute on their own account. However, if Colombia increases cost incentives, both for companies and contributing workers, formality would increase. The creation of productivity policies, the educational incentive for studies of this phenomenon of economic informality, the creation of specific projects, can contribute to the development of the formal economy and the decrease in informality rates, he commented.