FP7Individual fellowship2009–2011

EPFLE · The Effects of Precarious Work on Family Life in Europe

FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)

Duration
2009-12-17 → 2011-07-16
EU contribution
€153,687
Participants
1
Scheme
MC-IEF

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Results in brief

The Effects of Precarious Work on Family Life in Europe

Please note that the fellow only consumed two and a half 'active' months in the reporting period due to maternity leave and a suspension of the contract. During those 2,5 months the fellow wrote an extensive literature overview on the topic of fertility and labour markets. The literature overview looks at the following areas of research: (1) postponement and the fertility decline; (2) determinants of the life course security; (3) the decline of the life course security; (4) the effects of economic (un)certainty and employment (in)security on fertility; (5) the influence of aggregate unemployment on fertility; (6) the influence of individual unemployment on the fertility decision; (7) precarious work and fertility; (8) the transition to adulthood and home-leaving and fertility; (9) the influence of the availability of childcare on fertility.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

This project investigates the effects of precarious work on family life in Europe. So far research on precarious work has mainly focused on effects on the labour market itself. However, with an increasing fragmentation of work histories, we have to expand our focus beyond the labour market and analyse the effects of non-traditional work forms on the lives of individuals and their families. Traditional assumptions about the separation of work life and private life are no longer feasible since working time and non-working time become increasingly interconnected in both a short-term and a long-term perspective. Being exposed to high labour market risks over the life course is likely to lead to changes in social behaviour and consequently to new social outcomes, which in turn require adjusted labour market policies. Exposure to risk may be especially consequential in critical life course periods which coincide with the need to make long-term commitments (such as in partnership and parenthood). This research project pins down the social effects of precarious work along two crucial dimensions of family life: (1) fertility and family formation and (2) family organisation and within-family time-use. It focuses on Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the UK, representing five different welfare state regimes. From a methodological perspective, this research programme integrates economic and sociological research, also combining quantitative (i.e. microeconometric) and qualitative (i.e. case study) research. While micro-datasets and various national time-use data allow an analysis of fertility and within-family time-use, additional qualitative case studies in the above mentioned countries provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of precarious work on the life of families.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE · FiesoleCoordinatorItaly

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union