Speaker's presentation

Chiara Mussida is Associate Professor of Economic Policy at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Piacenza). She received her BA and Ph.D. in Economics from Università Cattolica. She also holds a Master of Arts in Development Economics from University of Sussex (Brighton, UK). Her research interests include empirical labour economics, gender inequality, poverty, and income inequality.

Introduces

Paolo Barbieri, Università di Trento

Discusses

Giorgio Cutuli, Università di Trento

Abstract

This paper explores the dynamics of low-pay work in Europe by using all the available longitudinal data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, covering the 2003-2020 period. We adopt a dynamic framework to characterize the possible transitory or permanent nature of low-paying jobs. We consider the spectrum of possible labor market outcomes, i.e. non-employment, low-paying jobs, and high-paying jobs. We find evidence of genuine state dependence in low-pay work in many countries explored, with important differences in magnitude. Notably, higher minimum wages and active labor market policies contribute to reducing low-pay state dependence, while we find a ‘discouraging role’ of unemployment benefits. Taken together, these findings suggest that policies aimed at increasing the minimum wage levels, together with increased social expenditure on active labor market policies, might motivate low-paid workers to invest in career advancement opportunities, thereby breaking the vicious cycle of low-paying job opportunities.

Registration 

Send an e-mail to csis@unitn.it by 29 April 2025, 23:59.