HOUSEHOLD SAVING AND LABOR INFORMALITY: THE CASE OF CHILE

CAGGIA, MAURICIO

Economía Chilena

Banco Central de Chile

Lugar: Santiago; Año: 2017 vol. 20 p. 52 - 52

he purpose of this paper is to compare the saving behavior of formal and informal workers. In addition, we provide a socioeconomic and financial characterization of informal workers. We use the Financial Household Survey conducted by the Central Bank of Chile in 2007 and have between 2.533 and 1.740 observations of urban households from Chile, depending on the savings definition and the informality definition that is used. We perform both OLS and probit regressions. Our cross-section regression results indicate that in general informal households save less than formal households. Further, descriptive data indicates that informal workers have less access to financial services and possess less financial assets and liabilities. In terms of policy implications, the results suggest that combating informality may have positive consequences on the aggregate saving rate.