El efecto del nivel educativo sobre el empleo formal en Ecuador periodo 2024

Abstract

The Ecuadorian labor market is characterized by a high persistence of informal sector. In 2024 alone, nearly 63,8% of people of working age were employed informally (INEC, 2024), which limits access to job stability and social protection for a large part of the employed population. In this context, this research examines the impact of educational level on the likelihood of accessing formal employment in Ecuador in 2024. Using information from INEC's National Survey of Employment, Unemployment, and Underemployment (ENEMDU), a logit model is estimated to evaluate the relationship between education and formal employment, incorporating demographic, labor, and territorial variables as controls. The results indicate that education has a positive and statistically significant impact on the probability of formal employment, with each additional year of schooling increasing this probability by approximately 2,6%. Likewise, significant gaps associated with gender, ethnicity, marital status, region, economic activity are identified and firm size. The findings provide recent empirical evidence for the design of public policies aimed at reducing informality and improving the quality of employment in Ecuador.