How Temporary is Temporary Employment in Spain

1 use a multinomial logit model and the Spanish Active Population Survey (EPA) for the period 1987-1996 to study labor force transitions of temporary workers. These workers hold fixed-term employment contracts, whicli Spanisli labor law distin guishes from indefinite contracts. Since the EPA questionnaire allows the identifica tion of workers with either type of contract, 1 use matched EPA files to analyze transitions from temporary to permanent employment and explore the extent to whicli workers holding fixed-term employment contracts tend lo be trapped in temporary employment relationships. 1