Labour market deregulation and workers’ outcomes at the beginning of the career. Evidence from Italy

We estimate whether early career patterns of tertiary graduates changed after the reform that deregulated fixed-term arrangements in 2001 in Italy, comparing the first six years of the career of those who graduated before and after 2001. Considering short- and medium-term outcomes in the labour market, we find that the searching time for the first job reduces for those graduated after 2001, while these individuals start working more frequently through atypical arrangements. Furthermore, post-2001 graduates worsen their economic condition with respect to the previous cohort as their weekly wages drop, while no significant differences emerge as concerns yearly working weeks.