Differences in Job and Work Mobility of Labor Market Insiders and Outsiders in Taiwan

One emerging issue of research on work and labor market is to study the segmentation trend in job and work mobility in labor markets, and mechanisms behind segmentation processes. Recently, some researchers argued further that the division between standard and nonstandard workers has acted as an additional segmentation of labor market. This approach also paves the way to understanding of the link between precarious work and social inequalities. Considering the significant impacts and labor market policy implication of this possible segmentation development, I research difference on patterns of job and work mobility between standard and nonstandard workers, and also study if these differences have caused segmentation in labor markets of Taiwan.

Existent literatures provide two strands of arguments regarding consequences of nonstandard work arrangement: the stepping-stone hypothesis and the entrapment hypothesis. The stepping-stone hypothesis claims that nonstandard work provides a stepping stone to a standard job and is regarded as a means to flexibilize the rigid labor market. On the other hand, the entrapment hypothesis, which is derived from labor market segmentation theory, assumes that nonstandard work has long-lasting negative consequences on job mobility because it makes nonstandard workers “trapped” in the secondary labor market segment, or leads to unemployment. To investigate which hypothesis is correct in Taiwanese labor markets, I use “Manpower Utilization Quasi-Longitudinal Survey” (2008-2011) to examine job and work mobility between standard and nonstandard workers. As a result, the findings from multi-nominal logistic regression models support the entrapment hypothesis. Segmentation of labor market is reflected in difference of mobility pattern between standard and nonstandard workers.