World Bank Group2015-11-182015-11-182014-10https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23024This paper analyzes the legal and actual gaps in working conditions and returns between permanent and temporary contracts, with a focus on civil law contracts, which are at the center of the debate on widening labor market duality in Poland. We find that net employment creation in recent years occurred largely through involuntary temporary contracts, especially among the low-skilled and young people. Even accounting for workers heterogeneity, we find a persistent wage gap between permanent and temporary contracts, and limited mobility across contract typologies. Insights from qualitative evidence suggest that narrowing duality without hurting the most vulnerable workers will require a reduction in administrative burdens and implicit costs associated with permanent labor contracts, while eliminating firms’ incentives to strictly prefer temporary contracts.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOJOBSEMPLOYMENTRISKSLABOR MARKET POLICYUNEMPLOYMENT RATESRIGHTSECONOMIC GROWTHLABOUR OFFICEACCOUNTINGWAGE GAPSKILLED WORKERSRETIREMENTWAGE DIFFERENTIALLABOR LAWMINIMUM WAGEINCOMESERVICE SECTORLABOR TURNOVERAGE GROUPJOB TENURETOTAL LABOR FORCEINFORMATIONLABOR FORCEHEALTH INSURANCEJOBAGE CATEGORIESINCENTIVESLABOR ECONOMICSWAGE LEVELLABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONFREELANCE WORKERSTEMPORARY WORKERSCONTRACT LABOREMPLOYMENT TRENDSEARLY RETIREMENTPAID WORKERSTEMPORARY WORKEMPLOYMENT PERFORMANCELABOR MARKETMATERNITY LEAVEECONOMIC SLOWDOWNLABOR MARKET REFORMLABOR MARKET FLEXIBILITYLABOR COSTSTRAININGMATERNITY BENEFITSWORKERCONTRACTSMANUFACTURING INDUSTRYPRODUCTIVITYUNEMPLOYEDOLDER WORKERSTEMPORARY WORKERMARKETSHEALTH CONTRIBUTIONSBUSINESS CYCLELABOR CONTRACTSLABORPRIME AGETOTAL EMPLOYMENTLABOUR MARKETSJOB SEARCHLABOR REGULATIONLONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENTJOBLESS GROWTHREGULAR WORKERSPERMANENT WORKERSUNEMPLOYMENTAVERAGE WAGESLABOR COSTHUMAN CAPITALPRIVATE SERVICEWORKERSLABOR MARKET CONDITIONSYOUNG WORKERSWAGESPOLICIESTOTAL UNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT RATEEMPLOYMENT PROTECTION LEGISLATIONYOUNG WORKERLABOR DEMANDHIGH EMPLOYMENTLABOR MARKET SEGMENTATIONVALUEAVERAGE WAGECONTRIBUTION RATELABOR CONTRACTNET EMPLOYMENTOCCUPATIONSLABOUR MARKETPERMANENT EMPLOYMENTWORKFORCE SKILLSLABOR MARKET OUTCOMESJOB CREATIONEMPLOYMENT GROWTHEARNINGEMPLOYMENT DYNAMICSICK LEAVEMANAGEMENTINSURANCEPRODUCTIVITY LEVELECONOMIC INTEGRATIONSEVERANCE PAYTEMPORARY JOBSSECURITYDISMISSALWORKING CONDITIONSSKILLED OCCUPATIONSPERMANENT JOBSEMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPLABOR MARKET REGULATIONSEMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPEMPLOYEEYOUNGER WORKERSLAWHIGH UNEMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT OUTLOOKUNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITSJOB SECURITYPRIMARY EDUCATIONEMPLOYEE BENEFITSWAGE EARNERWAGE DISTRIBUTIONLABOURHEALTH CONTRIBUTIONSMALL MANUFACTURINGLABOR MARKETSTEMPORARY EMPLOYMENTSTABLE JOBOUTCOMESSTRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENTWAGE EMPLOYMENTLABOR REGULATIONSEMPLOYEESReportWorld Bank10.1596/23024