Quantity Over Quality? A European Comparison of the Changing Nature of Transitions between Non-Employment and Employment

34 Pages Posted: 1 Nov 2010

See all articles by Werner Eichhorst

Werner Eichhorst

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Regina Konle-Seidl

Institute for Employment Research (IAB)

Alison Koslowski

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Paul Marx

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

This paper explores the empirical evidence for the claim that non-employed men and women in post-industrial labour markets are more likely to make the transition into employment than has previously been the case. It concludes that whilst the unemployed and the inactive remain distinct groups with regards to transitions into employment, post-industrial labour markets have indeed become more inclusive. Only a few countries saw decreased odds of transition over time for the unemployed, controlling for macro-economic conditions. The picture for the inactive is more mixed cross-nationally. Regarding the question whether an increasingly inclusive labour market is associated with a reduction in job quality, as measured by contract type, the study finds that there is a trend towards more precarious employment for the recently non-employed in some countries such as the Czech Republic, France, Italy and Belgium. In Denmark, Spain, the UK and Hungary, however, there was the opposite trend towards more permanent employment.

Keywords: fixed-term contracts, non-standard employment, transitions

JEL Classification: J41, J62

Suggested Citation

Eichhorst, Werner and Konle-Seidl, Regina and Koslowski, Alison and Marx, Paul, Quantity Over Quality? A European Comparison of the Changing Nature of Transitions between Non-Employment and Employment. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5285, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1700454 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1700454

Werner Eichhorst (Contact Author)

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Regina Konle-Seidl

Institute for Employment Research (IAB) ( email )

Regensburger Str. 104
Nuremberg, 90478
Germany

Alison Koslowski

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

Paul Marx

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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