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Low-wage employment

Author

Listed:
  • Claus Schnabel

    (Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Low-wage employment has become an important feature of the labor market and a controversial topic for debate in many countries. How to interpret the prominence of low-paid jobs and whether they are beneficial to workers or society is currently an open question. The answer depends on whether low-paid jobs are largely transitory and serve as stepping stones to higher-paid employment, whether they become persistent, or whether they result in repeated unemployment. The empirical evidence is mixed, pointing to both stepping-stone effects and “scarring” effects (i.e. long-lasting detrimental effects) of low-paid work.

Suggested Citation

  • Claus Schnabel, 2016. "Low-wage employment," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 276-276, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2016:n:276
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yin King Fok & Rosanna Scutella & Roger Wilkins, 2015. "The Low-Pay No-Pay Cycle: Are There Systematic Differences across Demographic Groups?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 77(6), pages 872-896, December.
    2. Alexander Mosthaf & Thorsten Schank & Claus Schnabel, 2014. "Low-wage employment versus unemployment: Which one provides better prospects for women?," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-17, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    low-wage employment; wages; stepping stone; state dependence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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