Are contingent jobs dead ends or stepping stones to regular jobs? Evidence from a structural estimation

Julen Esteban-Pretel, Ryo Nakajima, Ryuichi Tanaka

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The proportion of part-time, dispatch, and temporary workers has increased in many developed economies in recent years. These workers receive lower average wages and benefits, and are subject to lower employment stability. This paper analyzes the effects of initially taking such jobs on the employment careers of young workers. We build an on-and-off-the-job search model, using Japanese data to perform a structural estimation of the model parameters and simulate career paths, in order to study the effects of the initial choice of employment on the probability of having a regular job in the future and on the welfare of the worker. We find that although contingent jobs are neither stepping stones towards regular employment nor dead ends, starting a career in a contingent job has a lasting effect on the welfare of the individual in Japan.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)513-526
Number of pages14
JournalLabour Economics
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011 Aug

Keywords

  • Contingent employment
  • Job transition
  • On-and-off-the-job search
  • Structural estimation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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