This paper addresses the applicability of the theory of equalizing differences (Rosen, 1987) ina market in which temporary and permanent workers co-exist. The assumption of perfectcompetition in the labour market is directly questioned and a model is developed in which thelabour market is...

Applying data from 13 waves of the Swiss Labor Force Survey (1991-2003) I assess costs andbenefits of fixed-term contracts. First, I analyze the existence of a contract related wage gapand the effort response of temporary employees in terms of unpaid overtime hours. Second, Iinvestigate whether...

This paper contributes to recent research on work organization as a key success factor.

In an equilibrium model of the labor market, workers and firms enter intodynamic contracts that can potentially last forever, but are subject to optimalterminations. Upon termination, the firm hires a new worker, and the workerwho is terminated receives a termination contract from the firm and...

Many countries around the world have large public pension programs. Traditionally, these programshave been used to induce retirement by the elderly in order to free up jobs for the young andto redistribute income across generations. This paper provides an efficiency rationale for the...

In recent years, many countries have experienced a significant shift in demographic patterns towards the elderly. This phenomenon poses numerous challenges for the design of public pension programs and labor market policies. To better understand how public policy should be designed in response...

The aim of this study is to evaluate employees’ productivity in relation to their contract status.This study uses (a) survey data collected among manufacturing sector firms, having morethan 15 employees, in Cameroon between April and May 2006 and (b) information issued bythe National Institute...

We construct an equilibrium random matching model of the labour market, withendogenous market participation and a general matching technology that allows formarket size effects: the job-finding rate for workers and the incentives for participationchange with the level of unemployment. In...

The existing literature on training is concerned with understanding the reasons whyfirms pay for the general skills of their workers, but without explaining which firmstrain which workers. This paper develops a theory that both explains the willingnessof firms to pay for general training, and...

Garicano and Rossi-Hansberg (2003) show that knowledge-based hierarchies arecharacterized by positive sorting between workers and managers when knowledgeacquisition takes place before production. We extend the analysis and find thatcomplementarities between manager and worker skill are even...