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The effects of marginal employment on subsequent labour market outcomes

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Abstract

We analyse the consequences of starting a wage subsidised job, "marginal employment", for unemployed workers. Marginal employment is a type of wage subsidy paid to unemployed workers and they do not lose their unemployment benefits if the wage is below a certain threshold. We ask if the unemployed who start marginal jobs face better labour market outcomes than those who do not work. A priori it is not clear if those who work in marginal employment improve their labour market status, e.g. by signalling effort, or worsen it by reduced job search effort. We select unemployed workers and investigate the effect of marginal employment on their labour market outcomes, by means of propensity score matching. Our results suggest that selection into marginal employment is "negative", i.e. workers with characteristics we usually associate with low-productivity are more likely to select into such jobs. The unemployed who start to work in marginal employment during their unemployment spell suffer a (causal) penalty for doing so, relative to their peers who do not. The penalty, in terms of less employment, more unemployment, lower wages, lessens over time but is still present after three years.

Suggested Citation

  • René Böheim & Andrea Weber, 2006. "The effects of marginal employment on subsequent labour market outcomes," Economics working papers 2006-12, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
  • Handle: RePEc:jku:econwp:2006_12
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    Cited by:

    1. Ronny Freier & Viktor Steiner, 2007. ""Marginal Employment": Stepping Stone or Dead End? Evaluating the German Experience," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 744, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1v5orglviq8epaecq1buersvk5 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Matteo Picchio & Mattia Filomena, 2021. "Are Temporary Jobs Stepping Stones Or Dead Ends? A Meta-Analytical Review Of The Literature," Working Papers 455, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    4. Matthias Collischon & Kamila Cygan-Rehm & Regina T. Riphahn, 2021. "Employment effects of payroll tax subsidies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1201-1219, October.
    5. Nathalie Havet & Xavier Joutard & Alexis Penot, 2019. "Les pratiques d’activité réduite et leurs impacts sur les trajectoires professionnelles : une revue de la littérature," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 129(1), pages 11-47.
    6. Florent Fremigacci & Antoine Terracol, 2013. "Subsidized temporary jobs: lock-in and stepping stone effects," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(33), pages 4719-4732, November.
    7. Carrillo-Tudela, Carlos & Launov, Andrey & Robin, Jean-Marc, 2021. "The fall in german unemployment: A flow analysis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    8. Kyyrä, Tomi & Arranz, José M. & García-Serrano, Carlos, 2019. "Does subsidized part-time employment help unemployed workers to find full-time employment?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 68-83.
    9. Freier, Ronny & Steiner, Viktor, 2008. "Marginal employment: Stepping stone or dead end? : evaluating the German experience," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 223-243.
    10. Freier, Ronny & Steiner, Viktor, 2008. "Marginal employment: Stepping stone or dead end? : evaluating the German experience," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 223-243.
    11. Caliendo, Marco & Künn, Steffen & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2016. "Earnings exemptions for unemployed workers: The relationship between marginal employment, unemployment duration and job quality," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 177-193.
    12. Helmut Hofer & Andrea Weber, 2006. "Active Labor Market Policy in Austria: Practice and Evaluation Results," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 75(3), pages 155-167.
    13. Fackler, Daniel & Stegmaier, Jens & Weigt, Eva, 2019. "Does extended unemployment benefit duration ameliorate the negative employment effects of job loss?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 123-138.
    14. René Böheim & Andrea Weber, 2011. "The Effects of Marginal Employment on Subsequent Labour Market Outcomes," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(2), pages 165-181, May.
    15. Hélène Benghalem & Pierre Cahuc & Pierre Villedieu, 2022. "The Lock-in Effects of Part-Time Unemployment Benefits," Working Papers hal-03881625, HAL.
    16. Jacobo Muñoz-Comet & Stephanie Steinmetz, 2020. "Trapped in Precariousness? Risks and Opportunities of Female Immigrants and Natives Transitioning from Part-Time Jobs in Spain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(5), pages 749-768, October.
    17. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1v5orglviq8epaecq1buersvk5 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Hélène Benghalem & Pierre Cahuc & Pierre Villedieu, 2022. "The Lock-in Effects of Part-Time Unemployment Benefits," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03881625, HAL.
    19. Freier, Ronny & Steiner, Viktor, 2007. "‘Marginal Employment’: Stepping Stone or Dead End? Evaluating the German Experience," IZA Discussion Papers 3175, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Kyyrä, Tomi & Arranz, José María & García-Serrano, Carlos, 2017. "Does Part-Time Work Help Unemployed Workers to Find Full-Time Work? Evidence from Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 10770, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Freier, Ronny & Steiner, Viktor, 2008. "Marginal employment: Stepping stone or dead end? : evaluating the German experience," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 223-243.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    marginal employment; atypical employment; labour supply; propensity score matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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