The Social Consequences of Temporary Employment and Unemployment in Europe

Research question/goal: 

Temporary employment has been propagated as an instrument of labour market flexibilization to reintegrate unemployed workers. While a large body of literature shows that temporary contracts are inferior to permanent ones, there are almost no studies investigating the social consequences of temporary employment in comparison to unemployment. Using longitudinal data, this project aims at (1) investigating the causal effects of unemployment on processes of social exclusion in a dynamic life course perspective. Specifically, labour market career consequences and the effects on economic marginalization are analysed. (2) It is tested whether temporary employment has the potential to (re-)integrate socially excluded unemployed persons in the short-run and the long-run. (3) Comparing results across various Western and Eastern European countries should identify how labour market institutions, welfare regimes and family regimes mediate the micro-level effects of unemployment and temporary employment.

Current stage: 

The project is currently in the stage of preparing household panel survey data and running analyses on the social consequences of temporary employment and unemployment. First project results were presented at numerous international conferences and were published in international journals. Moreover, an application for external funding is in preparation.

Fact sheet

Funding: 
MZES
Duration: 
2011 to 2014
Status: 
in preparation
Data Sources: 
EULFS, EU-SILC and national household panel surveys (e.g. SOEP, BHPS/Understanding Societies, SHP)
Geographic Space: 
Western and Eastern Europe

Publications

Journal Articles

Heyne, Stefanie (2012): Arm durch Arbeitslosigkeit? Einkommensverluste und Armut im Kontext der Hartz-Reformen. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 41, issue 6, p. 418-434. more
Baranowska, Anna, Michael Gebel and Irena Kotowska (2011): The role of fixed term contracts at labour market entry in Poland: stepping stones, screening devices, traps or search subsidies?. Work, Employment and Society, 25, issue 4, p. 777-793. more
Gebel, Michael, and Johannes Giesecke (2011): Labour market flexibility and inequality: the changing skill-based temporary employment and unemployment risks in Europe. Social Forces, 90, issue 1, p. 17-40. more

Other Publications

Gebel, Michael (2013): Is a Temporary Job Better than Unemployment? A Cross-country Comparison Based on British, German, and Swiss Panel Data. Berlin [SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research at DIW Berlin; 543] more

Conference Presentations

Gebel, Michael (2013): Diskussionsbeitrag zu "Übergänge aus der Grundsicherung in sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung: Einflussfaktoren und Qualität der Beschäftigung". ["Hartz IV“: Was hat’s gebracht? Die Wirkungsforschung nach § 55 und ihre Lehren für die zukünftige Ausgestaltung des SGB II, Evangelischen Akademie in Loccum, March 14th to March 15th, 2013] more
Gebel, Michael (2012): Atypische Beschäftigung als Sprungbrett aus Arbeitslosigkeit und Armut?. [Invited lecture at IAB Colloquium, Nürnberg, July 05th, 2012] more
Gebel, Michael (2012): Does temporary employment mitigate the scar effects of unemployment? A cross-country comparison based on British, German and Swiss panel data. [10th international SOEP user conference, Berlin, June 28th to June 29th, 2012] more
Gebel, Michael (2012): Exclusion and flexibilization in youth labour markets: The role of institutional and structural variation across Europe.. [19th International Conference for Europeanists on "A Europe of Diversities", Boston, March 22nd to March 24th, 2012] more
Gebel, Michael, and Johannes Giesecke (2012): Exklusion und Flexibilisierung auf Jugendarbeitsmärkten: Die Rolle institutioneller und struktureller Einflussfaktoren in Europa. [DGS-Kongress, Ad-hoc Gruppe "Arbeitsmarktflexibilisierung und soziale Ungleichheit: Empirische Befunde, Trends und Risikogruppen", Bochum, October 03rd, 2012] more
Gebel, Michael, and Johannes Giesecke (2012): Flexibilization and inequality trends: The impact of employment protection reforms on youths’ non-employment and temporary employment risks in Europe. [ECSR/EQUALSOC Conference: Economic change, Quality of life and Social cohesion, Stockholm, September 24th to September 26th, 2012] more
Heyne, Stefanie, and Michael Gebel (2012): Unemployment and income Dynamics - Consequences of job loss in European welfare States. [Spring 2012 Meeting of ISA RC28 Economic Transformation and Social Stratification in Comparative Perspective, Hong Kong, May 10th to May 13th, 2012] more
Heyne, Stefanie (2012): Unemployment and Income Dynamics in a Life-Course Perspective. [Berlin Summer School in Social Science: Linking Theory and Empirical Research, Berlin, July 15th to July 27th, 2012] more
Gebel, Michael (2011): Does temporary employment help to reintegrate unemployed workers? A comparison based on British, German and Swiss panel data. [Invited talk in research seminar “Life course and inequality”, Lausanne, October 19th to October 20th, 2011] more
Gebel, Michael (2011): Does Temporary Employment Mitigate the Scar Effects of Unemployment? A Cross-Country Comparison based on British, German and Swiss Panel Data. [6th International conference of panel data users in Switzerland, Lausanne, June 08th to June 09th, 2011] more
Gebel, Michael (2011): Does temporary employment mitigate the scar effects of unemployment? A cross-country comparison based on British, German and Swiss Panel Data.. [Understanding Society/BHPS Conference 2011, Colchester, Essex, June 30th to July 01st, 2011] more
Heyne, Stefanie (2011): Poverty and income dynamics: Consequences of job loss in European welfare states. [ECSR 20th anniversary conference: European society or societies? A 20 year perspective, Dublin, December 14th to December 17th, 2011] more
Heyne, Stefanie (2011): Unemployment and poverty: consequences of labour market exclusion in European welfare states. [ECSR, EQUALSOC & University of Trento Joint Summer School 2011 "Poverty, Deprivation and Social Exclusion", Trento, September 05th to September 09th, 2011] more