Labor Statistics Meeting

Available evidence indicates substantial and on-going changes in the structure of work in advanced economies. These changes include the increased reliance on fixed-term contracts and other nontraditional or precarious employment arrangements for employees within companies, the outsourcing of work companies previously had performed in-house, and the offshoring of domestic jobs to foreign affiliates. Often, however, available measures of the scope and nature of these changes are limited, and our understanding of their implications for workers and businesses is incomplete.

The aim of the 2017 workshop of IZA’s "Labor Statistics" program area is to bring together senior and junior researchers to discuss their recent empirical research related to changes in the structure of work. We particularly encourage submissions of papers that present new evidence on:

• The prevalence of and trends in nontraditional or precarious employment, including fixed-term contracts, part-time work, work on jobs with irregular hours, self-employment and unregistered or off-the-books work
• Shifts in the pattern of domestic and offshore outsourcing and offshoring to foreign affiliates
• Implications of such changes for firms and workers
• Implications of such changes for the measurement of output, prices and productivity

Preference will be given to papers that have an explicit measurement focus or that develop or make use of novel data—including data from surveys, administrative records, linked data sets, or proprietary sources—to produce better measurements or fill data gaps in the course of addressing substantive questions related to the evolving structure of employment. 

Researchers interested in participating should submit a full paper or extended abstract by February 17, 2017. Notification of acceptance will be provided by March 3, 2017.