A Socio-Legal Exploration of the Linkages between Informal Employment, Social Protection and Labour Law in Latin America

• Main Author: Ulf Thoene
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de los Andes 2015-10-01
• Series: Revista de Estudios Sociales
• Subjects: Informal employment; citizenship; social protection; labour law; social rights; socio-legal studies
• Online Access: http://res.uniandes.edu.co/view.php/1025/index.php?id=1025

For decades Latin American societies and policy-makers have attempted to confront the social, political and economic challenges brought about by high levels of informal employment and entrepreneurial activity. Social exclusion, low rates of political participation, dysfunctional social protection schemes and mistrust of the law are some of the social phenomena that are inextricably linked to informality. This research article takes a socio-legal approach to explore linkages between informal employment, social protection and labour law proposing that purely economic or legal approaches overlook crucial contextual issues that hinder the formulation of sound regulatory policies. Thus this paper develops an analytical perspective based on the social rights and citizenship discourse questioning current social policies and the role of labour law.