IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/13843.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does Temporary Help Work Provide a Stepping Stone to Regular Employment?

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Kvasnicka

Abstract

Based on administrative data from the federal employment services in Germany, this paper applies statistical matching techniques to estimate the stepping-stone function to regular employment of temporary help work for unemployed job seekers. Our results show that workers who enter temporary help work from registered unemployment do not enjoy subsequent greater chances of employment outside temporary help work over a four-year period. Neither, however, do they suffer from future greater risks of unemployment. While our results, therefore, do not lend empirical support to a stepping-stone function of temporary help employment for the unemployed, they do neither confirm the existence of adverse effects on the future regular employment and unemployment chances of unemployed job seekers. If anything, temporary help work seems to provide an access-to-work function for the unemployed.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Kvasnicka, 2008. "Does Temporary Help Work Provide a Stepping Stone to Regular Employment?," NBER Working Papers 13843, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13843
    Note: LS
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w13843.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Kvasnicka & Axel Werwatz, 2003. "Arbeitsbedingungen und Perspektiven von Zeitarbeitern," DIW Wochenbericht, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 70(46), pages 717-725.
    2. David H. Autor & Susan N. Houseman, 2010. "Do Temporary-Help Jobs Improve Labor Market Outcomes for Low-Skilled Workers? Evidence from "Work First"," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 96-128, July.
    3. Lechner, Michael, 1999. "Identification and Estimation of Causal Effects of Multiple Treatments Under the Conditional Independence Assumption," IZA Discussion Papers 91, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. J. Ignacio García‐Pérez & Fernando Muñoz‐Bullón, 2005. "Temporary Help Agencies and Occupational Mobility," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 67(2), pages 163-180, April.
    5. Kvasnicka, Michael & Werwatz, Axel, 2002. "On the wages of temporary help service workers in Germany," SFB 373 Discussion Papers 2002,70, Humboldt University of Berlin, Interdisciplinary Research Project 373: Quantification and Simulation of Economic Processes.
    6. Alison L. Booth & Marco Francesconi & Jeff Frank, 2002. "Temporary Jobs: Stepping Stones Or Dead Ends?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(480), pages 189-213, June.
    7. Marloes de Graaf-Zijl & Gerard van den Berg & Arjan Heyma, 2011. "Stepping stones for the unemployed: the effect of temporary jobs on the duration until (regular) work," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(1), pages 107-139, January.
    8. David H. Autor, 2001. "Why Do Temporary Help Firms Provide Free General Skills Training?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(4), pages 1409-1448.
    9. Michael C. Burda & Michael Kvasnicka, 2006. "Zeitarbeit in Deutschland: Trends und Perspektiven," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(2), pages 195-225, May.
    10. Fredriksson, Peter & Johansson, Per, 2002. "Program evaluation and random program starts," Working Paper Series 2003:1, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    11. Barbara Sianesi, 2004. "An Evaluation of the Swedish System of Active Labor Market Programs in the 1990s," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 133-155, February.
    12. Edwin Leuven & Barbara Sianesi, 2003. "PSMATCH2: Stata module to perform full Mahalanobis and propensity score matching, common support graphing, and covariate imbalance testing," Statistical Software Components S432001, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 01 Feb 2018.
    13. Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1999. "The High-Pressure U.S. Labor Market of the 1990s," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 30(1), pages 1-88.
    14. Lewis M. Segal & Daniel G. Sullivan, 1997. "The Growth of Temporary Services Work," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 117-136, Spring.
    15. Lewis M. Segal & Daniel G. Sullivan, 1997. "Temporary services employment durations: evidence from state UI data," Working Paper Series, Macroeconomic Issues WP-97-23, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    16. Abraham, Katharine G & Taylor, Susan K, 1996. "Firms' Use of Outside Contractors: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(3), pages 394-424, July.
    17. Andrea Ichino & Fabrizia Mealli & Tommaso Nannicini, 2005. "Temporary Work Agencies in Italy: A Springboard Toward Permanent Employment?," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 64(1), pages 1-27, September.
    18. Michael Kvasnicka, 2003. "Inside the Black Box of Temporary Help Agencies," Labor and Demography 0311001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Heckman, James J. & Lalonde, Robert J. & Smith, Jeffrey A., 1999. "The economics and econometrics of active labor market programs," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1865-2097, Elsevier.
    20. Bender, Stefan & Haas, Anette & Klose, Christoph, 2000. "IAB Employment Subsample 1975-1995 Opportunities for Analysis Provided by the Anonymised Subsample," IZA Discussion Papers 117, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Klös, Hans-Peter, 2000. "Zeitarbeit - Entwicklungstrends und Arbeitsmarktpolitische Bedeutung," IW-Trends – Vierteljahresschrift zur empirischen Wirtschaftsforschung, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) / German Economic Institute, vol. 27(1), pages 5-21.
    22. Sianesi, Barbara, 2001. "An evaluation of the active labour market programmes in Sweden," Working Paper Series 2001:5, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael Kvasnicka, 2005. "Does Temporary Agency Work Provide a Stepping Stone to Regular Employment?," Labor and Demography 0510005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Michael C. Burda & Michael Kvasnicka, 2006. "Zeitarbeit in Deutschland: Trends und Perspektiven," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(2), pages 195-225, May.
    3. Jahn, Elke J. & Rosholm, Michael, 2010. "Looking beyond the bridge: How temporary agency employment affects labor market outcomes," IAB-Discussion Paper 201009, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    4. Jahn Elke J., 2010. "Reassessing the Pay Gap for Temps in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 230(2), pages 208-233, April.
    5. Jahn, Elke J. & Pozzoli, Dario, 2013. "The pay gap of temporary agency workers — Does the temp sector experience pay off?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 48-57.
    6. Carolyn J. Heinrich & Peter R. Mueser & Kenneth R. Troske, 2009. "The Role of Temporary Help Employment in Low-Wage Worker Advancement," NBER Chapters, in: Studies of Labor Market Intermediation, pages 399-436, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. John T. Addison & Christopher J. Surfield, 2008. "Atypical Work and Employment Continuity," Working Paper series 12_08, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, revised Jan 2008.
    8. van der Klaauw, Bas & Ziegler, Lennart, 2019. "A Field Experiment on Labor Market Speeddates for Unemployed Workers," IZA Discussion Papers 12140, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Giovanni S.F. Bruno & Floro E. Caroleo & Orietta Dessy, 2013. "Stepping stones versus dead end jobs: exits from temporary contracts in Italy after the 2003 reform," Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, Vita e Pensiero, Pubblicazioni dell'Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, vol. 121(1), pages 31-62.
    10. Okudaira, Hiroko & Ohtake, Fumio & Kume, Koichi & Tsuru, Kotaro, 2013. "What does a temporary help service job offer? Empirical suggestions from a Japanese survey," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 37-68.
    11. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Malo, Miguel & Muñoz-Bullón, Fernando, 2006. "The Role of Temporary Help Agencies in Facilitating Temp-to-Perm Transitions," IZA Discussion Papers 2177, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2009. "Le cause del(l') (in)successo lavorativo dei giovani," Economia & lavoro, Carocci editore, issue 3, pages 107-107.
    13. 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.
    14. René Böheim & Ana Rute Cardoso, 2009. "Temporary Help Services Employment in Portugal, 1995-2000," NBER Chapters, in: Studies of Labor Market Intermediation, pages 309-334, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. J. T. Addison & C. J. Surfield, 2009. "Does atypical work help the jobless? Evidence from a CAEAS/CPS cohort analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(9), pages 1077-1087.
    16. David H. Autor & Susan N. Houseman, 2010. "Do Temporary-Help Jobs Improve Labor Market Outcomes for Low-Skilled Workers? Evidence from "Work First"," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 96-128, July.
    17. Jahn, Elke & Pozzoli, Dario, 2011. "Does the Sector Experience Affect the Pay Gap for Temporary Agency Workers?," Working Papers 11-9, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    18. Jahn, Elke J., 2008. "Reassessing the Wage Penalty for Temps in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 3663, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Jahn, Elke J. & Rosholm, Michael, 2014. "Looking beyond the bridge: The effect of temporary agency employment on labor market outcomes," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 108-125.
    20. Burkert, Carola & Garloff, Alfred & Lepper, Timo, 2014. "Arbeitnehmerüberlassung in Hessen: Sprungbrett in reguläre Beschäftigung, Vermeidung von Arbeitslosigkeit oder gefangen in der Leiharbeitsfalle?," IAB-Regional. Berichte und Analysen aus dem Regionalen Forschungsnetz. IAB Hessen 201401, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • J40 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - General
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13843. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.