ABSTRACT
Mexico historically has had problems in implementing the rule of law. On the one hand, this means the state has a rather weak fiscal/tax base; on the other, vast numbers of the population do not have effective labour and social rights though these are enshrined in the Constitution. Further, many commercial transactions do not benefit from contractual guarantees. Demographically, the country has a rapidly ageing population. Many have no pension and families are no longer large or live close enough to serve as a de facto social protection net. For these reasons, the standard indicators of employment and unemployment are not sufficient to serve as leading labour indicators or key signals to understand the changes in Mexico’s labour market. The chapter describes the strategy adopted by Mexico’s national statistical office to measure informality, provides statistical data on its informal economy and reports as well on the policy measures and reforms the data have triggered to improve the situation of those most exposed to both personal and economic contingency in conducting their economic activity.
