Demanding proper payment in extremely vulnerable labor markets:gender differences in the prevalence of violence

Abstract

The present study examines a unique database of 724 individuals that informally look after cars parked in the streets. The study enriches our knowledge on the relationship between gender and the aggression exerted by these irregular workers on citizens. Employing a multivariate analysis, we find that men tend to commit acts of physical aggression more frequently than women, while women show greater verbal aggressiveness than men, when drivers underpay in this voluntary payment market. The results provided by the present study have implications to understand the dynamics in these understudied sectors and may be a valuable input for social policies. The findings may be useful also for other sectors with significant similarities, that is, those that work in the street doing different tasks in exchange for tips such as cleaning the windshields of the cars or juggling at the traffic lights. These results may shed light to the research and policy design in contexts where vulnerable workers strive for the informal ownership of a physical public space.