scholarly journals Temporary Contracts, Employment Trajectories and Dualisation: A Comparison of Norway and Sweden

2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702110314
Author(s):  
Tomas Berglund ◽  
Roy A Nielsen ◽  
Olof Reichenberg ◽  
Jørgen Svalund
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Temporary Employment ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Permanent Employment ◽  
Employment Trajectories ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Strict Regulation

This study compares the labour market trajectories of the temporary employed in Norway with those in Sweden. Sweden’s employment protection legislation gap between the strict protection of permanent employment and the loose regulation of temporary employment has widened in recent decades, while Norway has maintained balanced and strict regulation of both employment types. The study asserts that the two countries differ concerning the distribution of trajectories, leading to permanent employment and trajectories that do not create firmer labour market attachment. Using sequence analysis to analyse two-year panels of the labour force survey for 1997–2011, several different trajectories are discerned in the two countries. The bridge trajectories dominate in Norway, while dead-end trajectories are more common in Sweden. Moreover, the bridge trajectories are selected to stronger categories (mid-aged and higher educated) in Sweden than in Norway. The results are discussed from the perspective of labour market dualisation.

scholarly journals The partisan politics of employment protection legislation: Social democrats, Christian democrats, and the conditioning effect of unemployment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Reimut Zohlnhöfer ◽  
Linda Voigt
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Temporary Employment ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Regular Employment ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
The Government

Abstract Political parties are likely to hold differing views about employment protection legislation (EPL). While pro-welfare parties could support EPL, pro-market parties might focus on labour market deregulation. In this paper, we investigate empirically whether partisan politics, especially the government participation of Social democrats and Christian democrats, matter for EPL in 21 established OECD countries from 1985 to 2019. We show that during the golden age of the welfare state, the level of EPL was much higher where Social and Christian democrats dominated the government than elsewhere. After the golden age and under conditions of high unemployment, these unconditional effects mostly disappeared. Instead, the level of unemployment conditions partisan differences. Christian democrats liberalize EPL for regular employment significantly less than other parties under high levels of unemployment. In contrast, Social democrats defend high levels of EPL for regular and temporary employment when unemployment is low. Against expectations, they even liberalize employment protection for labour market insiders more than other parties at very high levels of unemployment.

scholarly journals Measures of de facto employment protection legislation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Jandric
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Shadow Economy ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Employment Structure ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Oecd Data

Research Question: The aim of this paper is to construct a numerical measure of EPL which takes into consideration the implementation of legislation and employment structure. Motivation: It is recognized in the literature that in countries with a significant share of the shadow economy the labour market flexibility is de facto higher than the original EPL index based on de iure conditions implies. Since the sub-index which refers to the workers with permanent contracts has the largest weight in the EPL index calculation, taking into consideration the share of workers with regular contracts in total employment would give a clearer picture about the real influence of individual sub-indices. Idea: For international comparisons of de iure strictness of the employment protection legislation, we use the latest official OECD data on EPL index and its sub-indices. The OECD data for Serbia shows only the values for EPR, EPC and EPRC sub-indices. After calculation of EPT sub-index and EPL index for Serbia, three adjusted indices are developed in order to capture the effective (i.e., de facto) strictness of the employment protection legislation in different countries. Data: The analysis was based on the latest available official OECD data on the EPL indices (2012 to 2015, depending on a country). For the calculation of missing sub-indices for Serbia, the main source of information was the Labour Law. Data on shadow economy are based on Krstic et al. (2013) and Schneider (2016), while the data regarding employment structure stem from Labour Force Surveys. Tools: Calculation of EPT and EPL indices was conducted in accordance with the official OECD methodology for calculating summary indicators of EPL strictness. The methodology for calculation of adjusted indices is developed on the initial basis of the previous research from Berger et al. (2016), Eamets & Paas (2007a), Boeri & van Ours (2008), Rutkowski & Scarpetta (2005) and Jandric (2014). Findings: The analysis was performed for 26 European countries. Rankings of European countries according to de facto strictness of the employment protection legislation differ significantly from the rankings made upon de iure strictness of the EPL. De facto external numerical flexibility of the labour market in Serbia is higher than when measured by the original unadjusted indices. Contribution: The main contribution of the paper is the development of the method for international comparisons of EPL, which provides a way to distinguish between de facto and de iure rigidity of employment protection legislation.

scholarly journals Importance of Employment Protection and Types of Employment Contracts for Elasticity of Employment in the OECD Countries

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-44
Author(s):  
Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski ◽  
Przemysław Włodarczyk
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Real Wages ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Employment Contracts ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
The Impact

This article presents the impact of the global crisis on employment in the OECD countries, and in particular is an attempt to explain why the impact is of a different scope in particular countries. Particular attention has been paid to the question of the role played by labour market institutions (such as employment protection legislation and fixed-term employment). The global economic crisis has influenced the situation in the labour markets of OECD countries, causing declines in employment and increases in unemployment. Changes in the level of employment in individual countries varied. Between 2007-2012 declines in production took place in the majority of OECD countries. Declines in real wages were also observed in those countries. On the other hand, in the period of 2005-2012 relatively small changes in labour market institutions occurred. With respect to both the stringency of employment protection legislation, as well as the share of fixed-term employment, there were no clearly visible trends in the data during the period of economic crisis. The econometric verification of theoretical hypotheses was performed using annual data from the 2005-2012 period for 26 OECD countries, and it shows that GDP and real wages were statistically significant determinants of employment size in the analyzed period. The study also confirmed the hypothesis of the existence of a non-linear (U-shaped) relationship between employment elasticity with respect to GDP and the level of stringency of employment protection legislation, as well as the share of fixed-term employment in the total number of employment contracts. The results show that the smallest declines in employment during a crisis might be expected in countries where the level of EPL is close to 2, and the share of fixed-term employment in the total number of employment contracts is close to 18%.

scholarly journals Labour market flexibilization and income distribution in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-185
Author(s):  
Philips Arestis ◽  
Jesús Ferreiro ◽  
Carmen Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Temporary Workers ◽  
Real Wages ◽  
Income Share ◽  
Labour Income ◽  
Protection Legislation

This paper analyses the role played by the flexibilization of labour markets on functional income distribution. Specifically, we analyse whether employment protection legislation affects the evolution of labour income share, measured by the size of compensation of employees as a percentage of GDP, the sum of wages and salaries as a percentage of GDP and the size of the adjusted wage share, in twenty European economies. Our study?s results show that the evolution of labour income share is explained by the economic growth, the growth of employment and unemployment rates, and the growth of real wages. Regarding the role played by the flexibility of the labour market, and specifically of the employment protection legislation, only employment protection for temporary workers has a significant impact on the evolution of labour shares. Our results show that stricter provisions on the use of fixed-term and temporary agency contracts have a positive impact on the growth of labour shares.

scholarly journals Knockin’ on heaven’s door? Reframing the debate on temporary employment and wages: evidence from Europe

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Bellani ◽  
Giulio Bosio
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic System ◽  
Method Of Moments ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Temporary Employment ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Permanent Workers

Abstract This article reframes the debate on the consequences of flexibilization in European labour markets focusing on the unexplored impact of temporary employment on occupational wages for permanent workers. Exploiting the variation in the temps’ density within occupation and age groups across European countries between 2003 and 2010, we find that temporary contracts negatively affect occupational average wages for insiders’ workers. These results are still robust using a dynamic system based on generalized method of moments (GMM-SYS) to account for potential endogeneity issues. We also explore the existence of heterogeneity across different occupational clusters and institutional settings. Our estimates indicate that the knock-on effect is large in countries with low employment protection legislation and it is driven by occupations characterized by untechnical work logics.

scholarly journals Complementarities between Labour Market Institutions and their Causal Impact on Youth Labour Market Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Niall O’Higgins ◽  
Giovanni Pica
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Labour Market Institutions ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWe analyse theoretically and empirically the effects on young people’s labour market outcomes of two specific labour market institutions and their interaction: employment protection legislation and active labour market policy. The paper examines recent policy reforms in Italy focussing on the impact of the 2012 Fornero reforms of employment protection legislation as well as the initial impact of the EU-wide Youth Guarantee scheme introduced in Italy in March 2014. The paper then examines how these two policy reforms interacted. The analysis first confirms the finding that the Fornero reform increased permanent hires particularly amongst the very youngest workers; it then goes on to find that the YG was indeed successful in increasing the hires of young people, although this operated through a statistically significant increase in female hires on temporary contracts. Third, it finds some evidence of a dampening effect of the YG on EPL reforms as predicted by theory.

Slovenian labour market policies under austerity: narrowing the gap between the well- and the less well‑protected in the labour market?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroljub Ignjatović ◽  
Maša Filipovič Hrast
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Employment Protection Legislation ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
The Unemployed

The economic crisis stimulated several reforms of the Slovenian labour market. In this chapter we present the major labour market policy changes, with emphasis on the period after 2010. These changes are also presented in relation to the retrenchment/expansion of policies, the adoption of activation and flexicurity, and their consequences for the living standards of the most vulnerable groups. The objective of labour market changes seems to be to increase flexibility and to implement activation (and social investment) more fully, as well as to improve the position of the most vulnerable groups on the labour market. Despite that, retrenchment has also been evident. The changes in labour regulations in 2014 reduced the employment protection legislation index for regular contracts, and the cuts in unemployment benefits, along with the changes in the social security system, have affected the unemployed, who remain among the groups most at risk of poverty.

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