Measuring the Utility Cost of Temporary Employment Contracts before Adaptation: A Conjoint Analysis Approach

Konstantinos Pouliakas and Ioannis Theodossiou

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This study attempts to estimate the ‘utility cost’ of temporary employment contracts purged of the psychological effects of adaptation. A conjoint analysis experiment is used that examines the ex-ante contract preferences of a unique sample of low-skilled employees from 7 European countries. It is shown that permanent contract holders request a significant wage premium to move to a temporary job. In contrast, temporary workers are indifferent between permanent and temporary contracts, ceteris paribus. The evidence suggests that individuals have a psychological immune system which neutralises events that challenge their sense of well-being, such as job insecurity. The methodology developed in this paper can provide policymakers with an alternative and relatively inexpensive method of quantifying the transitional loss (or gain) in welfare that individuals might experience in response to changing labour market policies.

Keywords: Utility; Temporary contracts; Adaptation; Conjoint analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C25 J31 J41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-11-13
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-lab and nep-upt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Measuring the Utility Cost of Temporary Employment Contracts Before Adaptation: A Conjoint Analysis Approach (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:14166

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