This paper describes the reforms aimed at simplifying the administrative
procedures for labor registration and the payment of social security contributions
that were carried out in Argentina in 2005 and 2007. Analysis of the legislation,
as well as a survey conducted among accountants, reveals that although the
reforms did reduce the administrative burden, the effect was only partial. By using
microdata gathered from household surveys conducted quarterly between 2003
and 2009, and the discontinuities according to company size that the legislation
engenders, differences-in-differences coefficients have been estimated regarding
the impact of the simplification reforms on the labor market. The results indicate
that the simplification reforms had a positive, although limited, effect on the labor
registration rate (of approximately two percentage points for all workers and nine
percentage points for newly-hired workers), but that there was no effect on
employment levels. Finally, policy recommendations are put forward aimed at
deepening the administrative simplification process and thereby improving its
effectiveness as a labor registration promotion mechanism.