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Employment protection legislation and job stability: an European cross country analysis

Employment protection legislation and job stability: an European cross country analysis
Employment protection legislation and job stability: an European cross country analysis
This paper tries to shed some light on the actual changes that occurred in the labour markets dynamics of the European Union 253 (EU-25) over the last decade using job tenure4 data. It then investigates the potential role of employment protection legislation (EPL)5 changes in explaining differences in the dynamics of job stability across countries but also across age groups in light of the dual-track reform strategy introduced in Europe during the same period: in most European countries, reforms were made typically at the margin (for new hires), while EPL for the incumbent workers remained unchanged. Thus, if the legislation does not apply uniformly to all workers, the effects of EPL reforms are expected to be disproportionately felt by new entrants, such as the young, women, and possibly immigrants.

The paper opens with a descriptive analysis of job stability measured through job tenure in the EU-25, and its evolution over the last years. The level and structure by age of this indicator is our main empirical material. Data used comes from Labour Force Surveys (EUROSTAT) up to 2006. The analysis shows no generalized decrease in job tenure but a trend towards shorter tenure of young workers (15-24) in most European countries. In a second step, the paper examines the possible explanations behind this trend, focusing on employment protection legislation. An econometric analysis is conducted to test the existence of a link between employment protection and job stability. In particular, we look at the impact of employment protection on average tenure and on the incidence of temporary employment. Finally, some policy recommendations are provided.
0966-4246
902
University of Southampton
Cazes, Sandrine
e7667f8a-c486-40bb-af15-dab9e4d6161d
Tonin, Mirco
2929ca00-ca4e-4eb3-bf2b-a5d233b80253
Cazes, Sandrine
e7667f8a-c486-40bb-af15-dab9e4d6161d
Tonin, Mirco
2929ca00-ca4e-4eb3-bf2b-a5d233b80253

Cazes, Sandrine and Tonin, Mirco (2009) Employment protection legislation and job stability: an European cross country analysis (Discussion Papers in Economics and Econometrics, 902) Southampton, GB. University of Southampton 23pp.

Record type: Monograph (Discussion Paper)

Abstract

This paper tries to shed some light on the actual changes that occurred in the labour markets dynamics of the European Union 253 (EU-25) over the last decade using job tenure4 data. It then investigates the potential role of employment protection legislation (EPL)5 changes in explaining differences in the dynamics of job stability across countries but also across age groups in light of the dual-track reform strategy introduced in Europe during the same period: in most European countries, reforms were made typically at the margin (for new hires), while EPL for the incumbent workers remained unchanged. Thus, if the legislation does not apply uniformly to all workers, the effects of EPL reforms are expected to be disproportionately felt by new entrants, such as the young, women, and possibly immigrants.

The paper opens with a descriptive analysis of job stability measured through job tenure in the EU-25, and its evolution over the last years. The level and structure by age of this indicator is our main empirical material. Data used comes from Labour Force Surveys (EUROSTAT) up to 2006. The analysis shows no generalized decrease in job tenure but a trend towards shorter tenure of young workers (15-24) in most European countries. In a second step, the paper examines the possible explanations behind this trend, focusing on employment protection legislation. An econometric analysis is conducted to test the existence of a link between employment protection and job stability. In particular, we look at the impact of employment protection on average tenure and on the incidence of temporary employment. Finally, some policy recommendations are provided.

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Published date: February 2009

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 177579
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/177579
ISSN: 0966-4246
PURE UUID: a088d30c-a55f-4aa2-b94a-63bccc382f85

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Date deposited: 17 Mar 2011 15:59
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:43

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Contributors

Author: Sandrine Cazes
Author: Mirco Tonin

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