Why do firms use fixed‑term contracts?

• Autor(a) principal: Portugal, Pedro
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Varejão, José
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/26228
• topic: Fixed-term contracts; Adjustment costs; Labor demand

In this article we look at how one specifc form of temporary employment - employment with fxed-term contracts - fts into employers’ hiring policies. We fnd that human capital variables, measured at the levels of the worker and the workplace, are important determinants of the employers’ decisions to hire with temporary contracts and to promote temporary workers to permanent positions. Those employers that hire more with temporary contracts are also those that are more likely to ofer a permanent position to their newlyhired temporary employees. Our results indicate that fxed-term contracts are a mechanism for screening workers for permanent positions.