Investigating the Relationships of Informal Labor Markets’ Ca ...

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Abstract

Lao PDR is a socialist transition economy and had a high growth rate of informal labor in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) from 2015 to 2018. This indicates that various forms of informal labor seem to be vigorously seeking capital assets to increase employment opportunities in the labor markets. To address the issue, the study collected data for a representative sample of 333 informal Laotian laborers from April to May of 2017 (Time 1) and from April to May 2018 (Time 2). The analysis was performed using a cross-lagged model under structural equation modelling. A cross-lagged model indicated a positive relationship path from human, physical, social, natural, and financial capital. The results suggest that when strong efforts to improve human capital are taken, informal labor may increase financial capital; additionally, promoted optimal social capital has grown as a real capital asset.