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Job Quality in Europe in the first decade of the 21st Century

Author

Listed:
  • José-Ignacio Antón
  • Enrique FERNÁNDEZ-MACÍAS
  • Rafael MUÑOZ DE BUSTILLO

Abstract

Using a recently developed aggregate indicator of job quality and three waves of the European Survey of Working Conditions (2000, 2005 and 2010) this paper explores the evolution job quality in the EU15 during the first decade of the 21st century, including the initial impact of the Great Recession. After a careful study of the evolution of job quality across the different dimensions and components of the proposed job quality index, differentiating between changes in the composition and changes in the means, we do not detect any major decline in job quality during the period, even during the early years of the economic crisis. The most significant change is a small increase in job quality in peripheral European countries, suggesting some convergence which may be undone in later years. We compare our findings with the conclusions of other authors and discuss several hypotheses for explaining the remarkable stability of job quality during such turbulent times.

Suggested Citation

  • José-Ignacio Antón & Enrique FERNÁNDEZ-MACÍAS & Rafael MUÑOZ DE BUSTILLO, 2015. "Job Quality in Europe in the first decade of the 21st Century," Economics working papers 2015-09, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    • Handle: RePEc:jku:econwp:2015_09
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nitu Jaiswal, 2019. "Quality of Informal Jobs in India’s Banking Sector: A Primary Study Through the “Decent Work†Framework," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 13(1), pages 71-83, April.
    2. Rafael Grande & Alberto Vallejo-Peña & Cesira Urzi Brancati, 2021. "The impact of IoT and 3D printing on job quality and work organisation: a snapshot from Spain," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2021-10, Joint Research Centre.
    3. Conen, Wieteke, 2020. "Multiple jobholding in Europe: Structure and dynamics," WSI Studies 20, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job quality; working conditions; measurement; economic crisis; transformation of work; Europe.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition

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