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How Binding are Legal Limits? Transitions from Temporary to Permanent Work in Spain

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Author Info
Güell, Maia
Petrongolo, Barbara

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Abstract

In the mid-1980s, several European countries, characterized by high levels of employment protection, introduced fixed-term contracts. Since then most accessions to employment have been through fixed-term contracts. This Paper studies the duration pattern of fixed-term contracts and the determinants of their conversion into permanent ones in Spain, a country in which the share of fixed-term employment is the highest in Europe. We estimate a duration model for temporary employment, with competing risks of terminating into permanent employment versus alternative states, and flexible duration dependence. We find that the shape of the baseline hazard is suggestive of two possible uses of fixed-term contracts by employers. First, there is a clear, pronounced spike at three years of duration, coinciding with the legal maximum duration of these contracts, suggesting that some fixed-term contracts are only converted into permanent ones when there is no other way to retain the worker. Second, there is a spike around one year of duration, which supports the idea that some of these contracts are also used as a screening device. Workers who successfully pass the screening may obtain a permanent renewal much before the legal duration limit of their contracts.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 3931.

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Date of creation: Jun 2003
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:3931

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Keywords: duration models fixed-term contracts

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis
J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - General

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

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    Other versions:
  2. Cahuc, Pierre & Postel-Vinay, Fabien, 2002. "Temporary jobs, employment protection and labor market performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 63-91, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  6. repec:fth:prinin:433 is not listed on IDEAS
  7. Maia Guell, 2000. "Fixed-term Contracts and Unemployment: an Efficiency Wage Analysis," Working Papers 812, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Juan J. Dolado & Marcel Jansen & Juan F. Jimeno, . "A Matching Model of Crowding-Out and On-the-Job Search (with an application to Spain)," Working Papers 2002-16, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
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  9. César Alonso-Borrego & Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & José E. Galdón-Sánchez, 2004. "Evaluating Labor Market Reforms: A General Equilibrium Approach," PIER Working Paper Archive 04-016, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Narendranathan, W. & Stewart, M.B., 1989. "Modelling The Probability Of Leaving Unemployment: Competing Risks Models With Flexible Baseline Hazards," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 331, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
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  13. Alison L Booth & Juan J. Dolado & Jeff Frank, 2002. "Symposium On Temporary Work Introduction," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(480), pages F181-F188, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Sara de la Rica, 2003. "Wage differentials between Permanent and Temporal Contracts: Further Evidence," DFAEII Working Papers 200207, University of the Basque Country - Department of Foundations of Economic Analysis II. [Downloadable!]
  16. Jose Galdon-Sanchez & Maia Guell, 2000. "Let's go to court! Firing costs and dismissal conflicts," Working Papers 823, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
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    Other versions:
  18. José Varejão & Pedro Portugal, 2003. "Why Do Firms Use Fixed-Term Contracts?," CETE Discussion Papers 0310, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto. [Downloadable!]
  19. Olivier Blanchard & Augustin Landier, 2001. "The Perverse Effects of Partial Labor Market Reform: Fixed Duration Contracts in France," NBER Working Papers 8219, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  22. Bentolila, Samuel & Saint-Paul, Gilles, 1992. "The macroeconomic impact of flexible labor contracts, with an application to Spain," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1013-1047, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Wasmer, Etienne, 1999. "Competition for Jobs in a Growing Economy and the Emergence of Dualism," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(457), pages 349-71, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  24. Lancaster, Tony, 1979. "Econometric Methods for the Duration of Unemployment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(4), pages 939-56, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. José Ignacio García Pérez & Yolanda Rebollo Sanz, 2005. "The use of permanent and temporary jobs across Spanish regions: Do unit labour cost differentials offer an explanation?," Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces E2005/16, Centro de Estudios Andaluces. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Nuno Martins & Ernesto Villanueva, 2006. "Does limited access to mortgage debt explain why young adults live with their parents?," Banco de España Working Papers 0628, Banco de España. [Downloadable!]
  3. Petrongolo, Barbara, 2004. "Gender Segregation in Employment Contracts," CEPR Discussion Papers 4303, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Dario Sciulli, 2006. "Making the Italian Labor Market More Flexible: An Evaluation of the Treu Reform," Economics Working Papers we063408, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Economía. [Downloadable!]
  5. José Varejão & Pedro Portugal, 2003. "Why Do Firms Use Fixed-Term Contracts?," CETE Discussion Papers 0310, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto. [Downloadable!]
  6. Yolanda Rebollo Sanz, 2006. "The role of job interruptions, temporary contracts and multi-firm experiences in the temporality trap in Spain," Working Papers 06.31, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Departamento de Economía. [Downloadable!]
  7. J.Ignacio García Pérez & Yolanda Rebollo Sanz, 2007. "The use of permanent contracts across Spanish regions: Do regional wage subsidies work?," Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces E2007/07, Centro de Estudios Andaluces. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Card, David & de la Rica, Sara, 2004. "The Effect of Firm-Level Contracts on the Structure of Wages: Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee Data," IZA Discussion Papers 1421, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Hector Sala & José I. Silva, 2005. "The Relevance of Post-Match LTC: Why Has the Spanish Labor Market Become as Volatile as the US One?," IZA Discussion Papers 1823, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  10. Hagen, Tobias, 2003. "Do Fixed-Term Contracts Increase the Long-Term Employment Opportunities of the Unemployed?," ZEW Discussion Papers 03-49, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  11. Elena Casquel & Antoni Cunyat, . "The Welfare Cost of Business Cycles in an Economy with Nonclearing Markets," Working Papers 2005-19, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
  12. Mario García-Ferreira & Ernesto Villanueva, 2007. "Employment risk and household formation: evidence from differences in firing costs," Banco de España Working Papers 0737, Banco de España. [Downloadable!]
  13. Hector Sala Lorda, 2005. "The relevance of Post-Match LTC: Why has the Spanish labor market become as volatile as the US one?," Working Papers wpdea0515, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona. [Downloadable!]
  14. David Card & Sara de la Rica, 2004. "The effect of firm-level contracts on the structure of wages: evidence from matched .," DFAEII Working Papers 200406, University of the Basque Country - Department of Foundations of Economic Analysis II, revised 15 Nov 2006. [Downloadable!]
  15. B Petrongolo, 2004. "Gender Segregation in Employment Contracts," CEP Discussion Papers dp0637, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
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