Back to search

VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon

Alternative Work Arrangements and Worker Welfare

Alternative title: Alternative tilknytningsformer i arbeidslivet og arbeidstakervelferd

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

Project Manager:

Project Number:

314267

Application Type:

Project Period:

2021 - 2025

Funding received from:

Location:

Partner countries:

Alternative work arrangements have been on the rise in many OECD countries in recent years. Increased fragmentation of supply chains and domestic outsourcing has led to growing use of contract workers, independent contractors and temporary work agencies. Also, the rise of digital platforms and so-called «gig work» is usually based on self-employed workers instead of ordinary employment. The objective of this project is to examine ongoing changes in alternative work arrangements in Norway since 1995. We analyze the consequences for worker welfare and inequality; the causal effects of deregulations on employment, wages and unionization, and the current developments in the legal framework. In the first part of the project, we will use linked administrative register and Norwegian Labor Force Survey (LFS) data as a new data source to investigate the development in alternative work arrangements over time. The register data cover the entire population, and make it possible to study the developments across different groups and over time. We will study the development in wages, rent-sharing and unionization, as well as the role of alternative work arrangements as stepping stones or dead ends in the labor market. In the second part of the project, we will study the importance of labor market regulation of alternative work arrangements – and the consequences of deregulation. We will investigate to what extent policy changes have affected alternative work shares, and whether these changes have affected unionization and wage development in different segments of the income distribution. In the third part, we will examine key aspects of the legal framework; the evolving notion of a worker in European Law and the reach of fundamental human rights provisions that potentially provide protection to workers on alternative contracts. Web: https://www.samfunnsforskning.no/english/projects/alternative-work-arrangements-and-worker-welfare/index.html

In this project we investigate trends in alternative work arrangements in the Norwegian labor market. In WP1, we will use linked administrative register and Norwegian Labor Force Survey (LFS) data as a new data source to scrutinize the development in alternative work arrangements over time. The register data cover the entire population, and make it possible to study marginal groups in the labor market, to investigate regional variations and to break down the samples further according to industry and firm. Yearly updating makes it possible to exploit the longitudinal structure of the data, and to follow the same individuals and firms over time. The use of register data enables us to contribute to the literature on several aspects that are not (yet) covered. We will study the development in wages, rent-sharing and unionization, as well as the role of alternative work arrangements as stepping stones or dead ends in the labor market. The analyses will be complemented with data from Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to investigate development in job-tasks and skills across contract type and countries. In WP2, we will study the importance of labor market regulation of alternative work arrangements – and the consequences of deregulation. We will investigate to what extent policy changes have affected alternative work shares, and whether these changes have affected unionization and wage development in different segments of the income distribution. In WP3, we will examine key aspects of the legal framework; the evolving notion of a worker in European Law and the reach of fundamental human rights provisions that potentially provide protection to workers on alternative contracts. While European Law may enhance the welfare of vulnerable individuals, it also poses challenges to national worklife models.

Publications from Cristin

No publications found

No publications found

No publications found

Funding scheme:

VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon