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Fixed-term contracts and wages revisited using linked employer-employee data
[Befristete Arbeitsverträge und Entlohnung neu untersucht mit verbundenen Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Daten]

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  • Christian Pfeifer

    (Leuphana University Lüneburg)

Abstract

This empirical research note uses linked employer-employee data from the German Federal Statistical Office to estimate wage differentials between workers with fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts. The data set allows to analyze wage differentials within firms and across the wage distribution. The main findings are: (1) Worker characteristics account for about half of the unconditional mean wage differential. The wage disadvantage of workers with fixed-term contracts is further reduced by the inclusion of occupations and firm fixed effects to approximately ten percent. (2) The wage disadvantage is larger at the lower tail of the wage distribution and quite constant in the middle and upper parts of the wage distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Pfeifer, 2012. "Fixed-term contracts and wages revisited using linked employer-employee data [Befristete Arbeitsverträge und Entlohnung neu untersucht mit verbundenen Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Daten]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 45(2), pages 171-183, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jlabrs:v:45:y:2012:i:2:d:10.1007_s12651-012-0107-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s12651-012-0107-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Normann Rion, 2019. "Waiting for the Prince Charming: Fixed-Term Contracts as Stopgaps," Working Papers halshs-02331887, HAL.
    2. Werner Eichhorst & Verena Tobsch, 2015. "Not so standard anymore? Employment duality in Germany [Vom Normalarbeitsverhältnis zu atypischen Verträgen? Die Dualisierung des deutschen Arbeitsmarktes]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 48(2), pages 81-95, August.
    3. Aalia Cassim & Daniela Casale, 2018. "How large is the wage penalty in the labour broker sector?: Evidence for South Africa using administrative data," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-48, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. repec:ilo:ilowps:481497 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Daniela Casale & Aalia Cassim, 2018. "How large is the wage penalty in the labour broker sector?: Evidence for South Africa using administrative data," WIDER Working Paper Series 48, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Marta Silva & Luis Filipe Martins & Helena Lopes, 2015. "Asymmetric labour market reforms and wage growth with fixed-term contracts: does learning about match quality matter?," Working Papers Series 2 15-04, ISCTE-IUL, Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL).
    7. Le Barbanchon, Thomas. & Malherbet, Franck., 2013. "An anatomy of the French labour market : country case studies on labour market segmentation," ILO Working Papers 994814973402676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Eichhorst, Werner & Tobsch, Verena, 2015. "Not so standard anymore? : employment duality in Germany (Vom Normalarbeitsverhältnis zu atypischen Verträgen? : die Dualisierung des deutschen Arbeitsmarktes)," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 48(2), pages 81-95.
    9. Eichhorst, Werner & Tobsch, Verena, 2013. "Has Atypical Work Become Typical in Germany?," IZA Discussion Papers 7609, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Eichhorst, Werner. & Tobsch, Verena., 2013. "Has atypical work become typical in Germany? : country case studies on labour market segmentation," ILO Working Papers 994814963402676, International Labour Organization.
    11. repec:ilo:ilowps:481496 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Sandrine Cazes & Juan Ramón de Laiglesia, 2015. "Temporary contracts and wage inequality," Chapters, in: Janine Berg (ed.), Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality, chapter 6, pages 147-183, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Christian Pfeifer, 2014. "A Note on Dual Internal Labor Markets and Wages of Temporary Workers: Evidence from Linked-Employer-Employee Data," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 133-142, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dual internal labor market; Fixed-term contract; Linked employer-employee data; Wage differential; Wage distribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts

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