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Kvart, Signild, Isabel Cuervo, Virginia Gunn, Wayne Lewchuk, Kim Bosmans, Letitia Davis, Astrid Escrig-Piñol, Per-Olof Östergren, Eva Padrosa, Alejandra Vives, Alessandro Zaupa, Emily Q. Ahonen, Valentina Álvarez-López, Mireia Bolíbar, Ignacio Diaz, Mariana Gutiérrez-Zamora, Lars Ivarsson, Mireia Julià, Carles Muntaner, Patricia O'Campo, Marisol E. Ruiz, Kristian Vänerhagen, Emilia F. Vignola, David Vílchez, Mattias Vos, Theo Bodin & Sherry L. Baron (2025): Labour and social protection gaps impacting the health and well-being of workers in non-standard employment: An international comparative study. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 20. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0320248

Abstract

"Background: World economies increasingly rely on non-standard employment arrangements, which has been linked to ill health. While work and employment conditions are recognized structural determinants of health and health equity, policies aiming to protect workers from negative implications predominantly focus on standard employment arrangements and the needs of workers in non-standard employment may be neglected. The aim of this study is to explore workers’ experiences of gaps in labour regulations and social protections and its influence on their health and well-being across 6 countries with differing policy approaches: Belgium, Canada, Chile, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Methods: 250 semi-structured interviews with workers in non-standard employment were analyzed thematically using a multiple case-study approach. Results: There are notable differences in workers’ rights to protection across the countries. However, participants across all countries experienced similar challenges including employment instability, income inadequacy and limited rights and protection, due to policy-related gaps and access-barriers. In response, they resorted to individual resources and strategies, struggled to envision supportive policies, and expressed low expectations of changes by employers and policymakers. Conclusions: Policy gaps threaten workers’ health and well-being across all study countries, irrespective of the levels of labour market regulations and social protections. Workers in non-standard employment disproportionately endure economic risks, which may increase social and health inequality. The study highlights the need to improve social protection for this vulnerable population." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Llosa, José Antonio, Enrique Iglesias-Martínez, Esteban Agulló-Tomás, Sara Menéndez-Espina & Beatriz Oliveros (2025): The effect of precarious employment on suicidal ideation: A serial mediation model with contractual temporality and job insecurity. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 46, H. 1, S. 239-255. DOI:10.1177/0143831X241240616

Abstract

"Suicidal ideation is a variable prior to suicidal behavior and one of the main producers of risk of death by suicide. The sample consisted of a total of 1,288 people living in Spain who at the time of answering the questionnaire were in active employment. Contractual status is a significant variable for the prediction of suicidal ideation. Contractual temporality is a risk factor for suicidal ideation, whereas permanent employment is a protective factor. In suicidal ideation, job insecurity is a mediating risk factor and a key dimension of job precariousness because of the adverse effects on mental health it causes. Job insecurity interacts with objective causes of precariousness and is presented as a necessary variable for understanding the relationship between these material causes and suicidal thoughts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Maestripieri, Lara, Alba Lanau, Roger Soler‐i‐Martí & Míriam Acebillo‐Baqué (2025): Intertwined precariousness and precarity: Disentangling a phenomenon that characterises Spanish youth. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. e12709. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12709

Abstract

"The growth of non-standard employment has emerged as a crucial factor that contributes to delays and difficulties in young people's transitions to adulthood. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of multidimensional measures of precariousness. This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of precariousness holistically, using an original database of respondents in Spain from 20 to 34 years of age. Using a mixed-methods approach, we explore young people's understandings of precariousness and examine its key determinants and consequences. The findings illustrate the multidimensional nature of feelings of precariousness, with economic insecurity and work conditions being core elements. Our results point to precarity stemming from a combination of inextricably intertwined objective and subjective components, as well as work and economic dimensions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Beneito, Pilar, Maria Garcia-Vega, Oscar Vicente-Chirivella & Guillaume Wilemme (2024): Robots and firms' labour search: The role of temporary work agencies. (Research paper / Nottingham Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy 2024,02), Nottingham, 55 S.

Abstract

"We study the impact of industrial robots on the use of labor intermediaries or temporary work agencies (TWAs) and firm productivity. We develop a theoretical framework where new technologies increase the need for quality match workers. TWAs help firms to search for workers who better match their technologies. The model predicts that using robots increases TWA use, which increases robots' productivity. We test the model implications with panel data of Spanish firms from 1997 to 2016 with information on robot adoption and TWA use. Using staggered difference-in-difference (DiD) estimations, we estimate the causal effects of robot adoption on TWAs. We find robot adopters increase the probability of TWA use compared to non-adopters. We also find that firms that combine robots with TWAs achieve higher productivity than those who adopt robots without TWAs." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bonet, Rocio, Marta Elvira & Stefano Visintin (2024): Hiring Temps but Losing Perms? Temporary Worker Inflows and Voluntary Turnover of Permanent Employees. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 38, H. 1, S. 83-102. DOI:10.1177/09500170221103135

Abstract

"This article investigates the effect of hiring temporary workers on the voluntary turnover of permanent employees. It argues that inflows of temporary workers erode the working conditions of permanent employees, prompting their voluntary departure. Using a unique panel dataset of individual-level monthly payroll data over an eight-year period in a sample of Spanish companies, a positive association between temporary worker inflows and the voluntary turnover of permanent workers is found. The results are robust to diverse specifications and are strongest for firms in non-manufacturing sectors and for firms that hire proportionally more low-skilled workers, contexts where the hiring of temporary workers may be more disruptive for permanent employees. Since the hiring of temporary workers is unlikely to threaten the employment of permanent employees in the dual labour market of Spain, the results indicate serious disruption costs associated with temporary hiring in organisations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Carrasco, Raquel, Ismael Gálvez-Iniesta & Belén Jerez (2024): Do temporary help agencies help? Employment transitions for low-skilled workers. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 90. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102586

Abstract

"We investigate the impact of working for a temporary help agency (THA) compared to being directly hired on the employment transitions of low-skilled male temporary workers aged 20 to 45. Using data from Spanish administrative records, we employ competing risk discrete-time duration models to analyze multiple temporary employment spells. Our analysis reveals the importance of accounting for short-duration dependence and workers’ unobserved heterogeneity. We find that, across all durations, agency workers are more likely to transition either to unemployment or to a new THA contract than their direct-hire counterparts. Transitions to permanent positions, although infrequent in our sample, are also more likely for agency workers. Our qualitative findings hold when unobserved heterogeneity is not controlled for. However, this model underestimates the effect of agency contracts on the risk of entering unemployment and overestimates the impact on the probability of re-entering THA. This suggests that positive self-selection plays a relevant role in explaining the higher persistence of THA employment, but not the associated higher risk of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Créchet, Jonathan (2024): A model of risk sharing in a dual labor market. In: Journal of monetary economics, Jg. 147. DOI:10.1016/j.jmoneco.2024.103591

Abstract

"In OECD countries, the labor market features a coexistence of open-ended, permanent jobs subject to strict employment protection and fixed-term, temporary jobs. This paper studies a search-and-matching model with risk-averse workers and dynamic employment contracts subject to limited commitment. In equilibrium, permanent and temporary jobs coexist when the match quality is sufficiently dispersed: firing costs generate insurance gains implying that permanent contracts are optimal for high-quality matches. Consistent with recent empirical evidence, quantitative analysis of the model shows that temporary contracts crowd out permanent jobs and do not generate employment gains." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Conde-Ruiz, J. Ignacio, Manu García, Luis A. Puch & Jesús Ruíz (2023): Reforming Dual Labor Markets: “Empirical” or “Contractual” Temporary Rates? (Estudios sobre la Economía Española / Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada 2023-36), Madrid, 48 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyzes the impact of the 2021 labor reform in Spain on job creation, job destruction, and employment duration using new daily comprehensive administrative data. The reform's primary objective was the mitigation of the temporary employment rate; however, despite the success in reducing the nominal temporary employment rate, the evidence suggests that employment stability in terms of duration has not significantly improved. The Spanish experience demonstrates that it is possible to design a labor reform that is highly effective in reducing the “contractual” temporary employment rate in a dual labor market, but with minimal impact on duration and short-term employment transitions, i.e. the “empirical” temporary employment rate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Siöland, Linus, Emmanuel Hassan, Matthew Geraci, Michela Gasperini, Clara Viñuales, Agnieszka Markowska & Olivia Aouati (2023): Report on mobile seasonal workers and intra-EU labor mobility. Luxemburg, 51 S. DOI:10.2767/093005

Abstract

"Mobile seasonal workers play an important role in the European labor market by increasing the supply of labor in times of the year when there is more work than the domestic market can supply workers for. This allows sectors that are marked by strong seasonality – notably agriculture, hospitality and tourism – to bolster their staff with workers from another country if they are not able to allocate all their work using only domestic applicants." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Carrasco, Raquel, Ismael Gálvez Iniesta & Belén Jerez (2022): Do Temporary Help Agencies Help? Temporary employment transitions for low-skilled workers. (Working paper. Economics / uc3m, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2022,04), Madrid, 40 S.

Abstract

"We investigate how being employed by a Temporary Help Agency (THA) affects transition rates to alternative labor market states for low-skilled workers. Our approach is based on the estimation of competing risk discrete duration models, and reveals the importance of accounting for short duration dependence. We use Spanish administrative data for the period 2005-2017. We find that having a THA contract rather than a direct-hire temporary contract increases the probability of entering into unemployment or another agency job at all durations. Agency workers are more likely to transition to permanent employment than their direct-hire counterparts, but these transitions are very infrequent for both. The positive effect of THA employment on the probability of transitioning to a permanent job is procyclical. By contrast, the positive effect on the probability of entering unemployment (or another agency job) increased during the Great Recession relative to the previous economic expansion, and has remained high during the recovery. In words, agency jobs in Spain are characterized by higher unemployment risk and persistence than regular temporary jobs, and these differences have intensified in recent years. Accouting for unobserved heterogeneity does not alter our main results." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Padrosa, Eva, Francesc Belvis, Joan Benach & Mireia Julià (2021): Measuring precarious employment in the European Working Conditions Survey: psychometric properties and construct validity in Spain. In: Quality & quantity, Jg. 55, H. 2, S. 543-562. DOI:10.1007/s11135-020-01017-2

Abstract

"Monitoring precarious employment (PE) is crucial to design and evaluate policies tailored to enhance the quality of employment and to achieve more decent and sustainable labour markets. In that regard, the construction of theory-based multidimensional measurement instruments with data derived from well-established and periodically-conducted surveys stands out as an insightful opportunity to acquire so. Accordingly, this study aims to adapt the Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) to the available information in the European Working Conditions Survey VI (EWCS-2015), and to explore the psychometric properties and construct validity of the ensuing instrument, namely EPRES-E, in Spain. 13 items sorted in six dimensions (temporariness, disempowerment, vulnerability, exercise of rights, uncertain working times and wages) shaped the EPRES-E. In a sample of 2442 formal employees residing in Spain, item- and scale-level analyses were performed alongside omega reliability coefficients and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). The scale exhibited good psychometric properties and reliability (ω = 0.80 for the EPRES-E score and near or above 0.70 for all subscales excepting “exercise of rights”). The factor structure was confirmed by CFA [χ2 (df) = 530.432 (58), p < 0.0001; CFI = 0.964; TLI = 0.951; RMSEA (95% CI) = 0.067 (0.062–0.073); all paths statistically significant]. Acceptability, however, was hampered by the large amount of non-response in the “earnings” variables (20.97%). In sum, the EPRES-E constitutes a promising instrument for the measurement of PE over time in Spain. Further studies should explore its comparability in the rest of the countries included in the EWCS as a first step towards the achievement of a European-wide monitoring system of the phenomenon." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Xavier Jara, H. & Alberto Tumino (2021): Atypical work and unemployment protection in Europe. In: Journal of Common Market Studies, Jg. 59, H. 3, S. 535-555. DOI:10.1111/jcms.13099

Abstract

"This paper evaluates the degree of income protection the tax-benefit system provides to atypical workers in the event of unemployment. Our approach relies on simulating transitions from employment to unemployment for the entire workforce in EU member states to compare household financial circumstances before and after the transition. Our results show that coverage rates of unemployment insurance are low among atypical workers, who are also more exposed to the risk of poverty, both while in work and in unemployment. Low work intensity employees are characterized by high net replacement rates. However, this is due to the major role played by market incomes of other household members. Finally, we show that in countries where self-employed workers are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, extending the eligibility to this group of workers would increase their replacement rates and make them less likely to fall into poverty in the event of unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Inanc, Hande (2020): Varieties of Precarity: How Insecure Work Manifests Itself, Affects Well-Being, and Is Shaped by Social Welfare Institutions and Labor Market Policies. In: Work and occupations, Jg. 47, H. 4, S. 504–511. DOI:10.1177/0730888420934539

Abstract

"Precarious Lives addresses one of the most important developments in employment relations in the neoliberal era: increase in labor precarity and the subsequent decline in employee well-being. Drawing on data on social welfare institutions and labor market policies in six rich democracies, the author shows that work is less precarious, and workers are happier, when institutions and policies provide job protection, and put in place support systems to buffer job loss." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Millán, Ana, José María Millán & Leonel Caçador-Rodrigues (2020): Disclosing 'masked employees' in Europe: job control, job demands and job outcomes of 'dependent self-employed workers'. In: Small business economics, Jg. 55, H. 2, S. 461-474. DOI:10.1007/s11187-019-00245-7

Abstract

"In this study, we examine whether job control, job demands and job outcomes of 'dependent self-employed workers', i.e. the workers in this particular grey zone between employment and self-employment, are more similar to those of the self-employed or paid employed. To this end, we use microdata drawn from the 2010 wave of the European Working Conditions Survey for 34 European countries. First, we develop and validate a psychometrically sound multidimensional scale for these 3 key constructs by conducting both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Then, multilevel (hierarchical) linear regressions are used to test the validity of our hypotheses. Our results suggest that these hybrid work relationships are endowed with the least favourable attributes of both groups: lower job control than self-employed workers, higher job demands than paid employees and, overall, worse job outcomes than both." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Avlijaš, Sonja (2019): The dynamism of the new economy: Non-standard employment and access to social security in EU-28. (LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 141), London, 76 S.

Abstract

"This paper examines the prevalence of non-standard workers in EU-28, rules for accessing social security, and these workers' risk of not being able to access it. It focuses on temporary and part-time workers, and the self-employed, and offers a particularly detailed analysis of their access to unemployment benefits. It focuses on eligibility, adequacy (net income replacement rates) and identifies those workers which are at the greatest risk of either not receiving benefits or receiving low benefits. It offers a special overview of foreign non-standard workers, who may be particularly vulnerable due to the absence of citizenship in the host country. The paper also analyses access to maternity and sickness benefits for these three groups of workers, as well as their access to pensions. Its key contribution is in bringing together the different dimensions of disadvantage that non-standard workers face vis-à-vis access to social protection. This allows us to comprehensively assess the adaptation of national social security systems across EU-28 to the changing world of work over the past 10 years. The paper shows that there is a lot of variation between the Member States, both in the structure of their social security systems, as well as the prevalence of non-standard work. Most notably, the paper concludes that: i) access to unemployment benefits is the most challenging component of welfare state provision for people in non-standard employment; ii) policy reforms vis-à-vis access to social benefits have improved the status of non-standard workers in several countries, while they have worsened it in others, particularly in Bulgaria, Ireland and Latvia; iii) some Eastern European countries can offer lessons to other Member States due to their experiences with labour market challenges during transition and the subsequent adaptations of their social security systems to greater labour market flexibility. The paper also implies that a country's policy towards nonstandard work" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cruz, Irene, Oscar Molina, Joan Miquel Verd, Elma Paulauskaite, Rimantas Dumčius, Milda Venckutė, Valentina Patrini & Carlos Vacas-Soriano (2019): Labour market segmentation: Piloting new empirical and policy analyses. Labour market change. (Eurofound research report / European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), Dublin, 88 S. DOI:10.2806/751649

Abstract

"This report sets out to describe what labour market segmentation is and why it is problematic for the labour market and society, as well as disadvantaged groups. It takes a broad view of the term to examine the situation that arises when the divergence in working conditions between different groups of workers is attributable to factors other than differentials in human capital levels. The report explores which policies or instruments are most effective in combating labour market segmentation, taking into account specific situational characteristics. The report offers a novel approach to the study of labour market segmentation that combines a quantitative empirical analysis with a policy analysis." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dimova, Dilyana (2019): The structural determinants of the labor share in Europe. (IMF working paper 2019,67), Washington, DC, 41 S.

Abstract

"The labor share in Europe has been on a downward trend. This paper finds that the decline is concentrated in manufacture and among low- to mid-skilled workers. The shifting nature of employment away from full-time jobs and a rollback of employment protection, unemployment benefits and unemployment benefits have been the main contributors. Technology and globalization hurt sectors where jobs are routinizable but helped others that require specialized skills. High-skilled professionals gained labor share driven by productivity aided by flexible work environments, while low- and mid-skilled workers lost labor share owing to globalization and the erosion of labor market safety nets." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lozano, Mariona & Elisenda Rentería (2019): Work in transition: Labour market life expectancy and years spent in precarious employment in Spain 1986-2016. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 145, H. 1, S. 185-200. DOI:10.1007/s11205-019-02091-2

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Marcu, Silvia (2019): The limits to mobility: Precarious work experiences among young Eastern Europeans in Spain. In: Environment and planning. A, Economy and space, Jg. 51, H. 4, S. 913-930. DOI:10.1177/0308518X19829085

Abstract

"This article contributes to the existing literature on the geography of mobility by examining the precarious work experiences of young people in relation to the limits to their mobility. Using 60 in-depth interviews with young immigrants from Eastern Europe who practised mobility to and from Spain, the article highlights the concern of 'limits to mobility' to show how respondents try to end their precarious work and labour instability in order to reach a stable destination. What are the limits to mobility? When is the peak reached? I argue that the limits to mobility can be explained by the interplay between the political-economic structure and people's spatiotemporal experiences. I have found three different types, depending on the life-course contexts in which young people live their limits to mobility: (1) mobility as tiredness-specific to those who have practised mobility to Spain and, after travelling, training and changing precarious jobs in several countries, try to move and settle in one place; (2) mobility as a labyrinth-situated between the fulfilment of objectives and the uncertainty of relocation; and (3) mobility as resistance to precarity through return-practised by people who migrated with their parents at an early age, who studied in Spain, but for professional reasons had to leave, and are currently either back in their countries of origin or in Spain. The limits to mobility have not as yet been researched in this way, and the findings may contribute to a refinement of the spatiotemporal framework of youth mobility." (Author's abstract, © 2019 a Pion publication) ((en))

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Mussida, Chiara & Luca Zanin (2019): Voluntary mobility of employees for better job opportunities given a temporary contract. Insights regarding an age-varying association between the two events. In: The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 1-27. DOI:10.1515/bejeap-2018-0143

Abstract

"What mechanisms govern the mobility of employees who voluntarily switch employers for better opportunities, given a temporary contract (TC)? We attempt to answer this question by exploring this issue in Southern and Central European countries. We use cross-sectional data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey for the 2005 - 2016 period. We estimate a flexible simultaneous equation model for binary responses by assuming the presence of an age-varying association between voluntary mobility and having a TC. After accounting for several socio-demographic and economic variables, we find a nonlinear decreasing relation between age and the outcomes, while we detect heterogeneous nonlinear patterns in the association between voluntary mobility and having a TC across countries. These insights can support policy-makers aiming to promote initiatives that facilitate the professional mobility of employees given a TC for an efficient allocation of human capital in the production system." (Author's abstract, © De Gruyter) ((en))

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Passaretta, Giampiero & Maarten H. J. Wolbers (2019): Temporary employment at labour market entry in Europe. Labour market dualism, transitions to secure employment and upward mobility. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 40, H. 2, S. 382-408. DOI:10.1177/0143831X16652946

Abstract

"This article focuses on school-leavers who enter employment with a temporary contract in the European context, and examines their probabilities to shift to standard employment or unemployment, and their chances of occupational mobility afterwards. The authors argue that two institutional dimensions of insider - outsider segmentation drive the career progression after a flexible entry: the gap between the regulation of permanent and temporary contracts and the degree of unionization. The analyses show that a disproportionate protection of permanent compared to temporary contracts increases the probability of remaining on a fixed-term contract, whereas the degree of unionization slightly decreases the chance of moving to jobs with higher or lower socio-economic status. Finally, a shift to permanent employment after a fixed-term entry is more often associated with occupational upward mobility in strongly rather than weakly unionized labour markets." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Sora, Beatriz, Thomas Höge, Amparo Caballer & José M. Peiró (2019): Employment contract, job insecurity and employees' affective well-being. The role of self- and collective efficacy. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 40, H. 2, S. 193-214. DOI:10.1177/0143831X18804659

Abstract

"A large amount of research has focused on job insecurity, but without obtaining consistent results. Some authors have pointed that this variability might be due to the operationalization of job insecurity. Different types of job insecurity can provoke different employee reactions. The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of job insecurity, understood as temporary employment (objective job insecurity) and personal perception (subjective job insecurity), on affective well-being. In addition, the moderator roles of job self-efficacy and collective efficacy are examined in the relationship between job insecurity and employees' affective well-being. This study was carried out with 1435 employees from 138 Spanish and Austrian organizations. The results showed a different effect of job insecurity depending on its conceptualization. Only subjective job insecurity was negatively related to affective well-being. Moreover, both self- and collective efficacy moderated the subjective job insecurity - outcomes relation, ameliorating employees' well-being levels when they perceived job insecurity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kalleberg, Arne L. (2018): Precarious lives. Job insecurity and well-being in rich democracies. Cambridge: Polity Press, 248 S.

Abstract

"Employment relations in advanced, post-industrial democracies have become increasingly insecure and uncertain as the risks associated with work are being shifted from employers and governments to workers. Arne L. Kalleberg sets out to examine the impact of the liberalization of labor markets and welfare systems on the growth of precarious work and job insecurity for indicators of well-being such as economic insecurity, family formation and happiness, in six advanced capitalist democracies: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Spain, and Denmark. This insightful cross-national analysis demonstrates how active labor market policies and generous social welfare systems can help to protect workers and give employers latitude as they seek to adapt to the rise of national and global competition and the rapidity of sweeping technological changes. Such policies thereby form elements of a new social contract that offers the potential for addressing many of the major challenges resulting from the rise of precarious work." (Publisher's text, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Rubery, Jill, Damian Grimshaw, Arjan Keizer & Mathew Johnson (2018): Challenges and contradictions in the "normalising" of precarious work. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 32, H. 3, S. 509-527. DOI:10.1177/0950017017751790

Abstract

"Precarious work is increasingly considered the new 'norm' to which employment and social protection systems must adjust. This article explores the contradictions and tensions that arise from different processes of normalisation driven by social policies that simultaneously decommodify and recommodify labour. An expanded framework of decommodification is presented that identifies how the standard employment relationship (SER) may be extended and flexibilised to include those in precarious work, drawing examples from a recent study of precarious work across six European countries. These decommodification processes are found to be both partial and, in some cases, coexisting with activation policies that position precarious work as an alternative to unemployment, thereby recommodifying labour. Despite these challenges and contradictions, the article argues that a new vision of SER reform promises greater inclusion than alternative policy scenarios that give up on the regulation of employers and rely on state subsidies to mitigate against precariousness." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dekker, Fabian & Romke van der Veen (2017): Modern working life: A blurring of the boundaries between secondary and primary labour markets? In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 38, H. 2, S. 256-270. DOI:10.1177/0143831X14563946

Abstract

"Today, there is a widespread suggestion that permanent workers are increasingly subject to precarious working conditions. Due to international competition and declining union density, job qualities of permanent workers are assumed to be under strain. According to proponents of a democratization of risk rationale, low job qualities that were traditionally attached to secondary labour markets are transferred to workers in primary segments of the labour market. In this study, the authors test this theoretical rationale among workers in 11 Western European economies, using two waves of the European Working Conditions Survey. The results do not confirm a democratization of labour market risk. Lower job qualities are highly associated with flexible employment contracts and highlight a clear gap between insiders and outsiders." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bachmann, Ronald & Julia Bredtmann (2016): Die Rolle befristeter Beschäftigung in Europa. In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, Jg. 65, H. 3, S. 270-298. DOI:10.1515/zfwp-2016-0017

Abstract

"Befristete Verträge werden in vielen Ländern der Europäischen Union als Instrument, Arbeitsmärkte flexibel zu gestalten, eingesetzt. Ein internationaler Vergleich zeigt, dass die befristete Beschäftigung nur bedingt die Durchlässigkeit der Arbeitsmärkte unterstützt. Zwar erleichtert sie teilweise den Arbeitsmarktzugang, führt aber auch zu instabilen Beschäftigungsverhältnissen und segmentierten Arbeitsmärkten, die mit einer geringen Sprungbrettfunktion der befristeten Beschäftigung einhergehen. Um nachhaltige Beschäftigung zu schaffen, erscheinen Reformen des Kündigungsschutzes, die Übergange in reguläre Jobs erleichtern, sowie Investitionen in Aus- und Weiterbildung als sinnvolle Alternativen" (Autorenreferat, © De Gruyter)

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Bünning, Mareike & Matthias Pollmann-Schult (2016): Parenthood, child care, and nonstandard work schedules in Europe. In: European Societies, Jg. 18, H. 4, S. 295-314. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2016.1153698

Abstract

"An increasing proportion of the European labor force works in the evening, at night or on weekends. Because nonstandard work schedules are associated with a number of negative outcomes for families and children, parents may seek to avoid such schedules. However, for parents with insufficient access to formal child care, working nonstandard hours or days may be an adaptive strategy used to manage child-care needs. It enables 'split-shift' parenting, where parents work alternate schedules, allowing one of the two to be at home looking after the children. This study examines the prevalence of nonstandard work schedules among parents and nonparents in 22 European countries. Specifically, we ask whether the provision of formal child care influences the extent to which parents of preschool-aged children work nonstandard schedules. Using data from the European Social Survey and multilevel models, we find evidence that the availability of formal child care reduces nonstandard work among parents. This indicates that access to formal child care enables parents to work standard schedules. To the extent that nonstandard work schedules are negatively associated with child wellbeing, access to formal child care protects children from the adverse effects of their parents' evening and night work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gialis, Stelios & Lila Leontidou (2016): Antinomies of flexibilization and atypical employment in Mediterranean Europe. Greek, Italian and Spanish regions during the crisis. In: European Urban and Regional Studies, Jg. 23, H. 4, S. 716-733. DOI:10.1177/0969776414538983

Abstract

"Until recently, Mediterranean countries were called on by European Union officials to provide for a 'less-rigid' regulatory framework, in order to enhance 'flexicurity'. This paper critically examines post-2008 flexibilization trends by focusing on Spanish, Italian and Greek regions. Starting from a contextualization of atypical employment and security, it then moves in a twofold direction; firstly, it presents the Flexible Contractual Arrangements and Active Labour Market Policies composite indicators, calculated for the NUTS-II regions of 12 member states for 2008 and 2011. These indicators reveal the changing ranking, especially of the Greek regions, towards higher labour market flexibility and relatively low levels of employability security; secondly, it focuses on the changing forms of atypical labour in the six regions that host the capital and the most important port city of Greece, Italy and Spain, respectively, by offering data on the expansion of flexible arrangements therein. The uneven flexibilization trends found in the study regions are seen as an outcome of the interaction between the general devaluation trends, different backgrounds and regionally specific patterns of labour market adjustment, while employment is found to be neither 'rigid' nor 'flexicure'. The paper concludes with some remarks on the relation between post-2008 dismantling of local labour regimes, restructuring and flexicurity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Horemans, Jeroen, Ive Marx & Brian Nolan (2016): Hanging in, but only just. Part-time employment and in-work poverty throughout the crisis. In: IZA journal of European Labor Studies, Jg. 5, S. 1-19. DOI:10.1186/s40174-016-0053-6

Abstract

"The crisis has deepened pre-existing concerns regarding low-wage and non-standard employment. Countries where unemployment increased most strongly during the crisis period also saw part-time employment increasing, particularly involuntary part-time work. With involuntary part-time workers, as a particular group of underemployed, facing especially high poverty rates, this was accompanied by an increase, on average, in the poverty risk associated with working part-time. However, this was not reflected in a marked increase in the overall in-work poverty rate because full-time work remains dominant and its poverty risk did not change markedly. The household context is of the essence when considering policy implications." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kahn, Lawrence M. (2016): The structure of the permanent job wage premium. Evidence from Europe. In: Industrial relations, Jg. 55, H. 1, S. 149-178. DOI:10.1111/irel.12129

Abstract

"Using longitudinal data on individuals from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) for thirteen countries during 1995-2001, I investigate the wage premium for permanent jobs relative to temporary jobs. The countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. I find that among men the wage premium for a permanent vs. temporary job is lower for older workers and native born workers; for women, the permanent job wage premium is lower for older workers and those with longer job tenure. Moreover, there is some evidence that among immigrant men, the permanent job premium is especially high for those who migrated from outside the European Union. These findings all suggest that the gain to promotion into permanent jobs is indeed higher for those with less experience in the domestic labor market. In contrast to the effects for the young and immigrants, the permanent job pay premium is slightly smaller on average for women than for men, even though on average women have less experience in the labor market than men do. It is possible that women even in permanent jobs are in segregated labor markets. But as noted, among women, the permanent job wage premium is higher for the young and those with less current tenure, suggesting that even in the female labor market, employers pay attention to experience differences." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Prosser, Thomas (2016): Dualization or liberalization? Investigating precarious work in eight European countries. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 30, H. 6, S. 949-965. DOI:10.1177/0950017015609036

Abstract

"A recent upsurge in the incidence of precarious work in Europe necessitates fresh examination of the origins of this trend. On the basis of field research in eight European countries and with reference to theories of liberalization and dualization, the factors that drive precarious work in discrete European labour markets are thus investigated. It is discovered that, while a structural-demographic factor such as non-compliance with labour law is a notable progenitor of precarious work, the deregulatory strategies of public authorities are particularly significant drivers. In conclusion it is asserted that although the theory of dualization helps explain developments in conservative-corporatist countries, in Anglophone and Mediterranean countries liberalization theory is generally more apposite. Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries emerge as a hybrid case." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Eichhorst, Werner & Paul Marx (Hrsg.) (2015): Non-standard employment in post-industrial labour markets. An occupational perspective. Cheltenham: Elgar, 435 S. DOI:10.4337/9781781001721

Abstract

"Examining the occupational variation within non-standard employment, this book combines case studies and comparative writing to illustrate how and why alternative occupational employment patterns are formed.
Non-standard employment has grown significantly in most developed economies, varying between countries. Different institutional settings have been deemed accountable for this variation, although inadequate consideration has been given to differences within national labour markets. Through an occupational perspective, this book contends that patterns of non-standard employment are shaped by flexibility in hiring and firing practices and the dispensability of workers' skills. The framework integrates explanations based on labour market regulation, industrial relations and skill supply, filling the gaps in previous scholastic research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Roca-Puig, Vicente, Inmaculada Beltrán-Martín & Mercedes Segarra-Ciprés (2015): Temporary contracts and manufacturing firms' outcomes in Spain. A curvilinear examination. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 36, H. 1, S. 23-49. DOI:10.1177/0143831X13494248

Abstract

"This work contributes to research on temporary employment, specifically through an analysis of its effect on firm efficacy. The authors analyze the potential curvilinear (nonlinear) relationship between temporary contracts and organizational outcomes and examine how the proportion of indirect temporary workers - hired through Temporary Help Agencies (THAs) - influences this relationship in a sample of 1597 Spanish manufacturing firms. The analysis finds a negative linear relationship between temporary contracts and labor productivity and a predominantly positive concave downward curve between temporary contracts and gross operating margin. This curvilinear relationship is especially stronger when the proportion of indirect temporary contracts is low, and it is found that the use of temporary contracts has a positive effect on gross operating margin, but this effect becomes negative with overuse. This empirical evidence partially questions the dominant linear view that has been established over the past few decades in the labor flexibility literature at an organizational level." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cabrales, Antonio, Juan J. Dolado & Ricardo Mora (2014): Dual labour markets and (lack of) on-the-job training. PIAAC evidence from Spain and other EU countries. (IZA discussion paper 8649), Bonn, 35 S.

Abstract

"Using the Spanish micro data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), we first document how the excessive gap in employment protection between indefinite and temporary workers leads to large differentials in on-the-job training (OTJ) against the latter. Next, we find that that the lower specific training received by temporary workers is correlated with lower literacy and numeracy scores achieved in the PIAAC study. Finally, we provide further PIAAC cross-country evidence showing that OJT gaps are quite lower in those European labour markets where dualism is less entrenched than in those where it is more extended." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Garcia Perez, J. Ignacio & Victoria Osuna (2014): Dual labour markets and the tenure distribution. Reducing severance pay or introducing a single contract. In: Labour economics, Jg. 29, H. August, S. 1-13. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2014.05.001

Abstract

"This paper evaluates Spain's 2012 labour market reform concerning the reduction in severance pay from 45 to 33 days of wages per year of seniority and the introduction of a new subsidised permanent contract. We also compare this policy with the introduction of a single open-ended labour contract with increasing severance payments for all new hires. We use an equilibrium search and matching model to generate the main properties of this segmented labour market. Our steady-state results show that this reform will reduce unemployment (by 10.5%) and job destruction (by 7.5%). However, in terms of wage subsidies, the cost of implementing this reform will be very high. A cheaper and more effective way to decrease the duality in the labour market could be to eliminate temporary contracts and introduce a single contract. Unemployment and job destruction in this case could be reduced by 31.5% and 35%, respectively. Most interestingly, tenure distribution could be even smoother than under the designed reform, as 22.5% more workers could have tenures of more than three years and there could be 38.5% fewer one-year contracts. The transition shows that both policy measures would benefit a majority of workers: only 7.4% would experience a decrease in tenure under the approved reform (5.5% in the transition to the single contract) due to the improvement in job stability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Martínez-Pastor, Juan-Ignacio (2014): Fixed-term contracts: does nationality matter? In: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Jg. 40, H. 5, S. 814-828. DOI:10.1080/1369183X.2013.778141

Abstract

"This paper contrasts foreigners and Spaniards regarding their likelihood of having a fixed-term contract. Data are drawn from the ad hoc module of the 2008 Spanish Labour Force Survey. The analysis is carried out with non-student males who have been in the Spanish labour market for ten years or less. Two probit models are applied. The analyses led us to conclude that the effect of nationality disappears for Eastern Europeans after controlling for human capital, social class, sector of activity and time spent in the Spanish labour market. However, the likelihood of working with a fixed-term contract is still 5 per cent higher for Latin Americans compared to Spaniards, even controlling for these variables. The gap reaches about 20 per cent for Africans." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bernhard-Oettel, Claudia, Thomas Rigotti, Michael Clinton & Jeroen de Jong (2013): Job insecurity and well-being in the temporary workforce. Testing volition and contract expectations as boundary conditions. In: European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Jg. 22, H. 2, S. 203-217. DOI:10.1080/1359432X.2011.647409

Abstract

"This study investigates whether temporary contract volition and workers' expectations for contract renewal are boundary conditions to explain differences in temporary workers' job insecurity feelings and well-being. It is hypothesized that (1) low volition through higher job insecurity indirectly associates with lower well-being and that (2) temporary workers' expectations of contract renewal weakens the links between both low volition and high job insecurity and high job insecurity and impaired well-being. Results based on an international data set of 1755 temporary workers employed in the education, manufacturing, and service sectors supported the first hypothesis and partly also the second. More specifically, low preferences for temporary contracts associated via higher job insecurity with lower job satisfaction, impaired health, and higher irritation. Contract expectations placed a boundary condition upon this indirect relation; however, the negative association between high job insecurity and impaired well-being was not weakened but strengthened. In conclusion, particularly temporary workers with low contract volition and high job insecurity feelings, who have high expectations for contract renewal are at risk for impaired well-being. Hence, this study sheds light onto the question how volition for temporary work and expected contract renewal relate to job insecurity and associate with individual well-being." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bonet, Rocio, Cristina Cruz, Daniel Fernández Kranz & Rachida Justo (2013): Temporary contracts and work-family balance in a dual labor market. In: ILR review, Jg. 66, H. 1, S. 55-87. DOI:10.1177/001979391306600103

Abstract

"A well-established finding in the literature is that self-employment enables mothers to accommodate work and family needs better than when they are engaged in organizational employment. With this result in mind, the authors investigate within a dual system of job protection if women under temporary contracts face greater work-family conflicts than those under permanent contracts. The authors use data on women's work and fertility histories from the Spanish Continuous Sample of Working Histories to analyze whether women under temporary contracts transition to self-employment upon motherhood more than those who are under permanent contracts. Analyses show that being under a temporary contract increases women's likelihood of transitioning to self-employment upon childbirth. Supplementary analyses show that this is partly the result of voluntary transitions and not an employer's decision to terminate a temporary contract upon motherhood. Overall, these findings reveal a hidden cost of temporary contracts: the greater difficulty in balancing work and family." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cutuli, Giorgio & Raffaele Guetto (2013): Fixed-term contracts, economic conjuncture, and training opportunities. A comparative analysis across European labour markets. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 29, H. 3, S. 616-629. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcs011

Abstract

"Our work aims to bring together two research fields: the debate concerning different labour market flexibilization strategies and the determinants of training chances. The purpose of our work is therefore to assess the trade-off between temporary employment and training opportunities in a comparative analysis of three groups of countries characterized by different levels of labour market segmentation and training coverage. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the 2008 economic downturn in shaping training opportunities for contingent workers. Our research questions are investigated using three pooled rounds of the European Social Survey (2004, 2006, and 2008). While regression analyses partially confirm the negative effects of fixed-term contracts (FTCs) on training opportunities, a counterfactual analysis shows a retrenchment in training provisions among temporary workers only in strongly segmented labour markets, where FTCs constitute a more homogeneous marginal group, highly stratified in terms of age, gender, unemployment experience, and social class." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Koch, Max & Martin Fritz (Hrsg.) (2013): Non-standard employment in Europe. Paradigms, prevalence and policy responses. (Work and welfare in Europe), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 246 S.

Abstract

"'Non-standard' employment is becoming more common. Fewer people are working full-time and/or have permanent employment contracts; more are working part-time, have fixed-term contracts or are self-employed. Many scholars have pointed to the negative consequences of this development, including 'precarious' forms of employment and in-work poverty. This volume provides a thorough theoretical and empirical analysis of these processes by understanding the 'destandardization' of employment in Europe and the associated modifications in socio-economic regulation both at national and EU level. The book provides country studies of the UK, Spain, Germany, Poland, Croatia, and the Nordic countries and offers comparative European analyses of part-time and fixed-term employment in relation to in-work poverty, exclusion and anomie. Emphasis is on 'best practice' in the governance of non-standard employment. Is there evidence for a new and socially inclusive European employment standard?" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lisi, Domenico (2013): The impact of temporary employment and employment protection on labour productivity. Evidence from an industry-level panel of EU countries. In: Journal for labour market research, Jg. 46, H. 2, S. 119-144., 2013-01-01. DOI:10.1007/s12651-013-0127-0

Abstract

"In den letzten Jahren ermöglichten neue, auf Branchenebene verfügbare Daten eine genauere Evaluation des Einflusses der Arbeitsmarktpolitik als frühere ländervergleichende Analysen. In diesem Aufsatz wird ein branchenspezifisches Panel genutzt, um den Einfluss des Kündigungsschutzes auf befristete und unbefristete Arbeitsverhältnisse in den EU-Ländern zu ermitteln. Die Vorteile dieser Datengrundlage sind vielfältig. Die Methode nutzt sowohl die internationale Variation beim Kündigungsschutz für befristete und unbefristete Arbeitsverhältnisse als auch die Variation von Branche zu Branche. Im Unterschied zur bisherigen Literatur wenden wir die Idee der unterschiedlichen Bindungskraft des Kündigungsschutzes nur für unbefristete Beschäftigungsverhältnisse an, während wir für befristete Beschäftigungsverhältnisse eine andere Strategie anwenden, die eine genauere Identifikation des Effekts unbefristeter Beschäftigungsverhältnisse auf die Arbeitsproduktivität ermöglicht. Die theoretische Literatur erlaubt noch keine klare Vorhersage zum Vorzeichen dieses Effekts, da unterschiedliche überzeugende Gründe für Effekte in beide Richtungen bestehen. Daher haben die Ergebnisse der Analyse möglicherweise wichtige politische Implikationen. Unsere Haupterkenntnis ist, dass befristete Verträge einen negativen, wenn auch sehr geringen Effekt auf die Arbeitsproduktivität haben. Desweiteren bestätigt die Analyse, dass Kündigungsschutz bei regulären Arbeitsverträgen das Wachstum der Arbeitsproduktivität in den Branchen drosselt, die auf eine stärkere Beschäftigungsallokation angewiesen sind." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Silva, Jose I. & Javier Vázquez-Grenno (2013): The ins and outs of unemployment in a two-tier labor market. In: Labour economics, Jg. 24, H. October, S. 161-169. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2013.08.009

Abstract

"This paper aims to shed some light on the dynamics of the Spanish labor market, using data from the Spanish Labor Force Survey for the period 1987 to 2010. We examine transition rates in a three-state model and compare our results with those reported for the UK and the US. Explicitly, introducing the employment duality present in the Spanish labor market, we study labor market dynamics in a four-state model set-up and we compute the contribution of the different transitions rates to unemployment fluctuations. Our main findings are as follows: i) around 85% the employment - unemployment gross flows involve temporary contracts; ii) the transition rates involving temporary employment account for around 60% of the fluctuations in the unemployment rate; iii) almost 80% of the unemployment rate volatility - explained by movements between unemployment and employment - involves the transition rates to/from temporary jobs. Our overall conclusion points out that the employment duality is the key to understanding the unemployment volatility and the functioning of the Spanish labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cervini-Pla, Maria & Xavier Ramos (2012): Long-term earnings inequality, earnings instability and temporary employment in Spain. 1993-2000. In: BJIR, Jg. 50, H. 4, S. 714-736. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8543.2011.00871.x

Abstract

"This article provides a longitudinal perspective on changes in Spanish male earnings inequality for the period 1993-2000 by decomposing the earnings covariance structure into its permanent and transitory parts. Cross-sectional earnings inequality of male full-time employees falls over the second half of the 1990s. Such decline was determined by a decrease in earnings instability and an increase of the permanent earnings component. Given the marked decline in temporary employment over the sample period, we also examine the effect of the type of contract on earnings variance components and find that workers on a fixed-term contract face, on average, more instability than workers on a permanent contract. This evidence suggests that the decline in temporary employment is responsible for the decreasing earnings instability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Comi, Simona & Mara Grasseni (2012): Are temporary workers discriminated against? Evidence from Europe. In: The Manchester School, Jg. 80, H. 1, S. 28-50. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9957.2011.02231.x

Abstract

"We analyse the wage gap between temporary and permanent jobs in nine European countries using a semiparametric approach and evaluate the wage gap across the entire wage distribution. We show that in some countries the fixed-term wage gap decreases as higher quantiles are considered, and that having a fixed-term contract penalizes more workers located at the bottom of the earnings distribution. We find also that workers with the same characteristics as temporary workers would receive higher wages if they worked on permanent contracts in almost all the countries considered, and that this finding is stable across the entire wage distribution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hohnen, Pernille (2012): Capacities and vulnerabilities in precarious work. The perspective of employees in European low wage work. Synthesis report on employees' experiences and work trajectories for Workpackage 7 of the walqing project. Wien, 174 S.

Abstract

"The report discusses work and life quality in new and growing jobs from an individual perspective. The empirical data on which the analysis is based consists of 22 country reports investigating elderly care, cleaning, catering, waste collection and construction in 11 different countries (4-5 countries per sector, see the matrix table below). Each country report is based on 20-25 individual semi-structured interviews with employees working in the selected sector and business functions.
The report consists of this introduction, five chapters, each focusing on one sector, and a conclusion. The chapters follow the same structure by starting with a brief introduction of the main characteristics of work in the sector. The remaining part of each chapter is organized into four sections. The first concentrates on workers' perceptions of the main quality of work and life issues. Then follows a section on agency, career trajectories and career options. The next section examines vulnerability in work and processes of vulnerabilization in the sector. Finally, the last section discusses workers' aspirations and capacities to aspire, followed by a summary and conclusion. The last concluding chapter discusses cross-sector findings in terms of the impact of new and growing jobs on individual lives, and highlights some trends in the present labour market and their possible implications for vulnerability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kahn, Lawrence M. (2012): Temporary jobs and job search effort in Europe. In: Labour economics, Jg. 19, H. 1, S. 113-128. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2011.09.001

Abstract

"Using longitudinal data on individuals from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) for eleven countries during 1995 - 2001, I investigate temporary job contract duration and job search effort. The countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. I construct a search model for workers in temporary jobs which predicts that shorter duration raises search intensity. Calibration of the model to the ECHP data implies that at least 75% of the increase in search intensity over the life of a 2+ year temporary contract occurs in the last six months of the contract. I then estimate regression models for search effort that control for human capital, pay, local unemployment, and individual and time fixed effects. I find that workers on temporary jobs indeed search harder than those on permanent jobs. Moreover, search intensity increases as temporary job duration falls, and roughly 84% of this increase occurs on average in the shortest duration jobs. These results are robust to disaggregation by gender and by country. These empirical results are noteworthy, since it is not necessary to assume myopia or hyperbolic discounting in order to explain them, although the data clearly also do not rule out such explanations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lancker, Wim Van (2012): The European world of temporary employment. In: European Societies, Jg. 14, H. 1, S. 83-111. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2011.638082

Abstract

"Departing from growing concerns about in-work poverty and the proliferation of flexible employment, we investigate the association between temporary employment and poverty in a European comparative perspective. In doing so, we focus specifically on possible gender dimensions, because some are concerned that the impact of flexible employment on income security will be different for men and women and that gender inequality will increase. By means of a logistic multilevel model, we analyse recent EU-SILC data for 24 European countries. The results show that the temporarily employed have a higher poverty risk vis-à-vis permanent workers, mainly caused by lower wages. However, the risk factors to become working poor are similar. The poorly educated, young workers and those living in a single earner household with dependent children have an increased probability to live in poverty, whether they are employed on temporary or permanent basis. Differences between European welfare regimes demonstrate that policy constellations influence the magnitude of these risk factors. Counter-intuitively, temporary working women have a lower poverty risk than their male counterparts. They are better protected because they are more often secondary earners in a dual earning household, while men are more often primary earners. This article advances knowledge on the linkages between temporary employment, economic insecurity and gender differences in European welfare states." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Casquel, Elena & Antoni Cunyat (2011): Temporary contracts, employment protection and skill. An application to Spain. In: The Manchester School, Jg. 79, H. 6, S. 1237-1261. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9957.2011.02226.x

Abstract

"In this paper we explain the different conversion patterns of temporary contracts by the impact of employment protection in combination with differences in productivity between workers. We use longitudinal survey data from individuals to estimate a competing risks model with multi-spells for Spain. The model includes correlated unobserved determinants in the transition rates to deal with selectivity. We find that workers with higher levels of education have a stronger probability of finding a permanent job. In contrast, low-educated workers have a stronger probability of ending in unemployment or another temporary contract. Furthermore, we show the importance of employment protection in affecting the threshold level above which workers gain access to a permanent contract." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fernandez-Kranz, Daniel, Marie Paul & Nuria Rodriguez-Planas (2011): Part-time work, fixed-term contracts, and the returns to experience. (IZA discussion paper 5815), Bonn, 31 S.

Abstract

"Using data from Spanish Social Security records, we investigate the returns to experience in different flexible work arrangements, including part-time and full-time work, and permanent and fixed-term contracts. We use a trivariate random effects model which consists of a three equation system that is estimated simultaneously by Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques. Our results indicate that there is a large pay gap for working part-time which persists many years after having resumed full-time work. We also find that working part-time involves lower returns to experience than standard full-time employment and thus a substantial negative wage differential for those employed part-time accumulates over time. Finally, we find that heterogeneity exist by contract type and motherhood status." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fernández-Kranz, Daniel & Nuria Rodriguez-Planas (2011): The part-time pay penalty in a segmented labor market. In: Labour economics, Jg. 18, H. 5, S. 591-606. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2011.01.001

Abstract

"This paper is the first to examine the implications of switching to PT work for women's subsequent earnings trajectories, distinguishing by their type of contract: permanent or fixed-term. Using a rich longitudinal Spanish data set from Social Security records of over 76,000 prime-aged women strongly attached to the Spanish labor market, we find that the PT/FT hourly wage differential is larger and more persistent among fixed-term contract workers, strengthening the existent evidence that these workers can be classified as secondary. The paper discusses problems arising in empirical estimation (including a problem not discussed in the literature up to now: the differential measurement error of the LHS variable by PT status), and how to address them. It concludes with policy implications relevant for Continental Europe and its dual structure of employment protection." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))