New Contingent is an independent editorial project covering published research on earnings that arrive unevenly, working hours set at short notice, and the household arrangements that researchers have studied alongside them.
Three summaries of published work, each naming the researchers involved and the limitations those researchers have stated about their own methods.
Panel studies, administrative files and bank records give different answers about how much earnings move from one period to the next.
Research discussed: Moffitt and Gottschalk; Hardy and Ziliak; Farrell and Greig; Abraham and colleagues.
Sociologists have documented short advance notice and fluctuating hours in hourly work; one field experiment tested a change in practice.
Research discussed: Lambert, Fugiel and Henly; Schneider and Harknett; Williams and Kesavan.
Diary studies, saving models and survey items each describe how uneven income meets fixed obligations, and each is contested.
Research discussed: Morduch and Schneider; Carroll; Kaplan and Violante; Lusardi and colleagues.
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Summaries of published academic and institutional research on variable earnings, variable working hours and the household economics studied alongside them. Each article names the researchers and describes the limits of the methods used.
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