Structural heterogeneity and informality in Brazil: productivity by sector of production in the 2010s
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-53575524tatKeywords:
Labor productivity, Formal and informal sector, System of National Accounts, Brazilian economy, Growth accountingAbstract
The role of the production sectors (formal/informal) and their economic activities is investigated in accordance with international recommendations and within the System of National Accounts production frontier. The formal and informal sectors are investigated from the perspective of production, and not from the usual perspective of occupation. Firstly, the value added, occupations and labor productivity in Brazil are estimated in the period 2010 to 2019 (and in subperiods). Subsequently, aggregate productivity growth rate is decomposed from the methodology proposed by Diewert (2015), which explicitly deals with changes in relative prices. The analysis disregards activities with a high share of non-market and/or imputed production so as not to bias productivity dynamics, although results are also compared considering all activities in the economy. The results indicated that about 44% of occupation are outside the formal sector and that such activities generate less than 21% of the total value-added. There was great productive heterogeneity both between sectors of production and within each one of them. Changes in occupations and productivity in the formal and informal segments of economy were presented as an important sources in explaining the evolution of the low dynamism of aggregate productivity.
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Atualizado em 14/08/2025