Measuring the Quality of Employment in the Informal Sector
Author(s)
Messier, John
Abstract
Our paper explores and measures the quality of employment among urban, low-income households in Ecuador. It hopes to contribute to the literature by raising attention to the diversity of job quality within the informal sector and by highlighting the importance of quality of employment in the context of poverty reduction and development strategies. Building on the previous work on decent work indicators, we propose a job quality index measure and apply this measure to men and women workers in urban poor communities of Ecuador using a 2002 sample survey. We also show that there are differentiated patterns on job quality among women and men in these households. In addressing the importance of employment quality, this paper hopes to provide a better understanding of the issue, especially as it relates to poverty alleviation and to illustrate a way of measuring employment quality.
