Fialho, Priscilla Vieira;
(2018)
Essays on labour market segmentation.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Preview |
Text
Fialho_10046278_thesis.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
This dissertation consists of three essays on labour market segmentation between openended and temporary employment contracts. Each essay has an empirical nature and exploits either qualitative or quantitative macro and micro data to answer questions related to the extent in which labour markets are segmented and how to address labour market duality in Europe. The first essay reviews the evolution of Employment Protection Legislation over time, recent labour market reforms that affected labour market segmentation and the different proposals for future reforms in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. It introduces the reader to the institutional and legal context for the remaining two essays. The second essay describes several stylised facts about labour market segmentation in the same set of countries. I characterise workers, firms and tasks in atypical employment contracts. I also investigate their average duration, the frequency of transitions from atypical to open-ended contracts and the extent to which firms rotate over workers in atypical employment contracts. Overall, this essay argues that labour market segmentation is not merely a legal artefact, but that there exists a real divide between temporary and permanent workers in dual labour markets. Finally, the third essay evaluates whether low-skilled workers have benefited from the introduction of fixed-term contracts and analyses the heterogeneous effects of potential labour market reforms aiming at tackling labour market segmentation, such as reducing the redtape cost of dismissing workers in a permanent contract or taxing fixed-term contracts. One of the main findings is that decreasing the dismissal cost of permanent contracts by 10% would reduce the share of fixed-term contracts in new hires by half a percentage point, if the destruction rate of permanent contracts were to remain unchanged, and that this policy would mostly benefit workers in the upper part of the ability distribution.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Essays on labour market segmentation |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10046278 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
