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Weaker Jobs, Weaker Innovation. Exploring The Temporary Employment-Product Innovation Nexus

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  • Armanda Cetrulo
  • Dario Guarascio

Abstract

In the last decades, labour flexibility has been introduced all across Europe with the aim of spurring jobs and productivity. This work explores the link between the use of temporary employment and the propensity to introduce product innovations by firms. The analysis performed at the sectoral level combines information on innovation, economic performance and employment for five major European economies observed over the period 1998-2012. Taking into account the variety of technological patterns, the authors find that industries using temporary employment more intensively are characterized by a weak product innovation propensity. The negative correlation between temporary employment and innovation is stronger in medium and high-tech sectors identified alternatively by Peneder classification and by the concentration of firms’ intangible assets proxing different Schumpeterian regimes of accumulation.

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  • Armanda Cetrulo & Dario Guarascio, 2018. "Weaker Jobs, Weaker Innovation. Exploring The Temporary Employment-Product Innovation Nexus," Working Papers 0032, ASTRIL - Associazione Studi e Ricerche Interdisciplinari sul Lavoro.
    • Handle: RePEc:ast:wpaper:0032
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    Cited by:

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    2. Aistleitner, Matthias & Gräbner, Claudius & Hornykewycz, Anna, 2021. "Theory and empirics of capability accumulation: Implications for macroeconomic modeling," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(6).
    3. Canale, Rosaria Rita & Liotti, Giorgio & Musella, Marco, 2022. "Labour market flexibility and workers’ living conditions in Europe," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 441-450.
    4. Grande, Rafael & Muñoz de Bustillo, Rafael & Fernández Macías, Enrique & Antón, José Ignacio, 2020. "Innovation and job quality. A firm-level exploration," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 130-142.
    5. Lucrezia Fanti & Dario Guarascio & Matteo Tubiana, 2019. "Skill Gap, Mismatch, and the Dynamics of Italian Companies' Productivity," LEM Papers Series 2019/30, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    6. Nascia, Leopoldo & Pianta, Mario, 2018. "Research and innovation policy in Italy," MPRA Paper 89510, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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