Multidimensional measurement of precarious employment using hedonic weights: Evidence from Spain

This article examines the evolution of employment precariousness in Spain based on a new method of constructing multidimensional precarious measures. This methodology resembles the one proposed by Alkire and Foster (2007, 2011) for multidimensional poverty in the framework of the counting approach. The main novelty of the approach adopted resides in the use of hedonic weights derived from the subjective evaluation by employees for the selection of the different dimensions of jobs that make up multidimensional precariousness and the quantification of their relative influence. The evidence obtained reveals that the precariousness of employment created in Spain has intensified significantly in recent years and that the strong temporary nature of employment is the most salient component of this precariousness from a multidimensional perspective.This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI) and ERDF (European Union) under grant CSO2017‐86474‐R, by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grants CSO2014-55780-C3-2-P and ECO2016-77900-P and by the Autonomous Community of Madrid and European Commission (Project S2015/HUM-3416-DEPOPOR-CM)