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Atypical Jobs: Stepping Stones or Dead Ends? Evidence from the NLSY79

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  • John T. Addison
  • Chad D. Cotti
  • Christopher J. Surfield

Abstract

type="main"> Atypical work arrangements have long been criticized as offering more precarious and lower paid work than regular open-ended employment. An important British paper by Booth et al. (Economic Journal, Vol. 112 (2002), No. 480, pp. F189–F213) was among the first to recognize such jobs also functioned as a stepping stone to permanent work. This conclusion proved prescient, receiving increased support in Europe. Here, we provide a broadly parallel analysis for the USA, where research has been less targeted on this issue. We report similar findings for temporary workers in the USA as found for fixed-term contract workers in Britain.

Suggested Citation

  • John T. Addison & Chad D. Cotti & Christopher J. Surfield, 2015. "Atypical Jobs: Stepping Stones or Dead Ends? Evidence from the NLSY79," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 83(1), pages 17-55, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:manchs:v:83:y:2015:i:1:p:17-55
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    Cited by:

    1. Filomena, Mattia & Picchio, Matteo, 2021. "Are Temporary Jobs Stepping Stones or Dead Ends? A Meta-Analytical Review of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 14367, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Maria Giovanna Bosco & Elisa Valeriani, 2017. "From temporary to permanent jobs: a stepping stone analysis for Emilia Romagna," EcoMod2017 10474, EcoMod.
    3. Addison, John T. & Teixeira, Paulino & Grunau, Philipp & Bellmann, Lutz, 2018. "Worker Representation and Temporary Employment in Germany: The Deployment and Extent of Fixed-Term Contracts and Temporary Agency Work," IZA Discussion Papers 11378, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Maria Giovanna Bosco & Elisa Valeriani, 2018. "The Road to Permanent Work in Italy: “It’s Getting Dark, Too Dark to See”," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 4(3), pages 385-419, November.
    5. Bosco, Maria Giovanna & Valeriani, Elisa, 2019. "Labour contracts and the stepping-stone effect in Emilia-Romagna: A multinomial analysis," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 13, pages 1-24.
    6. Bosco, Maria Giovanna & Valeriani, Elisa, 2018. "Labour contracts and stepping-stone effect in Italy: A multinomial analysis," Economics Discussion Papers 2018-13, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

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