Temporary Work and Immigrant Labor Market Opportunities - An Empirical Analysis of a Temporary Work Reform

Temporary work reform was implemented in July 2015 and allowed the hiring of temporary employees on a general basis for up to 12 months. However, this deregulation was met with challenges from the left-wing parties in Norway, and 51 municipality leaders refused to implement the reform in municipality hiring. This thesis evaluates how temporary work reform affects the temporary employment for immigrants residing in Norway using individual register data from 2010 to 2013 and 2015 to 2018. The causal effect is estimated using the difference-in-difference (DiD) method, with municipalities that agreed to implement the reform designated the treatment group, and those who disagreed designated the control group. Results show a minor significant increase in the probability of immigrants having temporary works as their main jobs and a 6.82kr drop in hourly wage. Additionally, there is no significant quarterly stepping-stone effect on transition rate (from temporary to permanent employment) for immigrants. The mixed results are contributive but are not conclusive as to whether the reform is beneficial to immigrants.