This paper analyses the effects of Temporary Help Agencies (THA) on occupational mobility by performing an empirical comparison of the job-to-job upgrading chances of agency and regular (non-agency) workers in Spain. We estimate a switching regression model to allow for self-selection into...

This article evaluates the effectiveness of regional wage subsidies to foster permanent employment using the "Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales". This dataset, which is used here for the first time to evaluate Spanish labour market policy, offers a complete employment history for each...

This paper considers a job search model in which the environment is not constant throughout the unemployment spell and where jobs do not last for ever. In this situation, reservation wages can be lower than they would be in a model without consideration of such separations, but they can...

Grade retention practices are at the forefront of the educational debate. In this article, we measure the effect of grade retention on Spanish students' achievement by using data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We find that grade retention has a negative impact on...

El objetivo de este artículo es doble. En primer lugar, se trata de realizar una primera evaluación de la última reforma laboral. Pasados doce meses desde su aprobación, esta reforma, la sexta en los últimos 27 años, tampoco está teniendo éxito en reducir una de las mayores lacras del...

Unemployment rates in developed countries have recently reached levels not seen in a generation, and workers of all ages are facing increasing probabilities of losing their jobs and considerable losses in accumulated assets. These events likely increase the reliance that most older workers will...

Unemployment insurance is usually found to show negative effects in the transition from unemployment to a new job. However, the extent to which workers’ careers might improve or deteriorate as a result of the unemployment insurance system is not immediately clear. This paper addresses the...

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of short-time work (STW) schemes for preserving jobs and reducing the segmentation between stable and unstable jobs observed in dual labour markets. For this purpose, we develop and simulate an equilibrium search and matching model considering the situation...

Fixed-term contracts have low firing costs and can thus help low skilled youth find a first job faster. But do these workers get a more rewarding career? Using Spanish social security data, we compare the careers of native male high-school dropouts who entered the labor market just before and...

The discussion about the need for Social Security reforms has recently resurfaced, and is expected to continue to be part of the political agenda in the near future. Our paper is a step in the direction of providing a framework for policy analysis that accounts for employment uncertainty,...