This paper shows some of the most important theoretical topics for the analysis of labordemand, as well as the empirical evidence available for the Colombian case. Regarding thetheoretical aspects, the presentation focuses on the microeconomic discussion related to theproperties of labor demand originating from entrepreneurs endeavoring to maximize profits,who face productive processes based on the two variables of capital and labor. Next there is adiscussion on the effects of the liberalization and structural reforms on labor demand. Theliterature reviewed for the Colombian case shows in general how the elasticity estímate of thedemand of workers in relation to finished product and real wages differs substantially due tothe diversity in terms of econometric specifications, data temporality and data sources .

This paper discuses some of the adverse effects that could be generated in terms of poverty and income distribution from the labour flexibilization in Colombia. Based on a partial equilibrium analysis for the urban labour market, it argues that successive reductions in the real wage may decrease unemployment but, at the expense of increases in poverty and inequality of income distribution. The author concludes that the number of jobs to be generated through the Colombian labour reform of 2002 will not mean a substantial reduction of the unemployment rote; contrary to the government forecasts on this matter, the labour reform has the potential not only of extending the recessive phase of the business cycle, but also of deteriorating urban poverty and inequality indicators.

This paper examines the evolution of gender segregation indexes by occupation in the urban labour markets of Colombia between 1986 and 2004 and presents a decomposition of their changes over time using a technique proposed by Deutsch et al. (2006). We find that a substantial proportion of the reduction in segregation indexes for this country is driven by changes in both, the employment structure of occupations and the increasing female labour participation observed over these years while changes in the gender composition of occupations have favoured mainly government employees and those with university education

<p>The purpose of this article is to valuate the housework productivity in Colombia using a shadow price based methodology, within the New Economics of the Family framework developed by Becker (1981,1985) and following Heckman’s approach (1974,1979). By using the stochastic frontier technique it may be concluded that 11.9 hours per day maximize the reserve wage earned by a woman living in the province’s main town; whereas rural women’s maximum reserve wage corresponds to 12.3 hours per day, which implies a higher degree of competitiveness in urban areas. On the other hand, poorer living standards offered by big cities in terms of the upbringing of children, compared to the rural areas, make a good enough incentive structure that raises the urban opportunity cost of participating in the labour market, along with the reserve wage.</p>