Voluntary Mobility of Employees for Better Job Opportunities Given a Temporary Contract: Insights Regarding an Age-Varying Association Between the Two Events

What mechanisms govern the probability of voluntary mobility to seek better job oppor-\r\ntunities, given a temporary contract? We attempt to answer this question by exploring the\r\nissue in some Southern and Central European countries. We use cross-sectional data from the\r\nEuropean Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey for the 2005–2016 period.\r\nWe estimate a flexible simultaneous equation model for binary responses by including a third\r\npredictor equation to model the copula association parameter between voluntary mobility\r\nand having a temporary contract as a function of employee age. Our results suggest that\r\nbeing young, being better educated, and earning a low hourly wage are the characteristics\r\nof employees who move for better jobs. In most of the countries explored, we also find a\r\nsignificant association between voluntary mobility and having a temporary contract, which\r\nis less strong for young than for middle-aged employees.