Can Fixed-Term Contracts Put Low Skilled Youth on a Better Career Path? Evidence from Spain
By reducing the commitment made by employers, fixed-term contracts can help low-skilled youth find a first job. However, the long-term impact of fixed-term contracts on these workers’ careers may be negative. Using Spanish social security data, we analyze the impact of a large liberalization in the regulation of fixed-term contracts in 1984. Using a cohort regression discontinuity design, we find that the reform raised the likelihood of male high-school dropouts working before age 19 by 9%. However, in the longer run, the reform reduced number of days worked (by 4.5%) and earnings (by 9%).
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Copy CitationJ. Ignacio García-Pérez, Judit Vall Castelló, and Ioana Marinescu, "Can Fixed-Term Contracts Put Low Skilled Youth on a Better Career Path? Evidence from Spain," NBER Working Paper 22048 (2016), https://doi.org/10.3386/w22048.Download Citation
Published Versions
J Ignacio García-Pérez & Ioana Marinescu & Judit Vall Castello, 2019. "Can Fixed-term Contracts Put Low Skilled Youth on a Better Career Path? Evidence from Spain," The Economic Journal, vol 129(620), pages 1693-1730. citation courtesy of 
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