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https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.7...
Article . 2026 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
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Temporary Agency Work and Labor Misallocation

Authors: Belén Jerez; Raquel Carrasco Perea; Ismael Gálvez-Iniesta;

Temporary Agency Work and Labor Misallocation

Abstract

The triangular relationship between outsourced workers, intermediary employers, and user firms is theoretically underexplored. We address this gap with a two-period model of temporary agency employment in which the temp agency screens workers and rents them out to user firms, balancing current revenue maximization against the risk of future poaching. Although screening gives the agency an informational advantage that could improve assignment quality, the threat of poaching creates incentives for strategic misallocation. In particular, the agency may conceal some productive workers in low-quality assignments to preserve future rents. This distortion results in prolonged temporary spells, fewer permanent transitions, lower aggregate productivity, and inefficiently low employment due to a poaching-induced holdup problem. The interaction with the direct-hire market can also amplify the inefficiencies, particularly when search externalities are not internalized. Although in theory poaching fees can mitigate these distortions, they are typically restricted by labor laws. The model predicts that agency employment is more prevalent and misallocation more severe in lower-productivity segments. In our framework, strategic misallocation is necessary to rationalize salient patterns of employment flows and wage differentials across skill categories.

Keywords

Search and matching, D61, Temporary agency work, Temporary Agency Work, Screening, Efficiency, D58, Intermediation, J20, J42, Economía

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
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