The article examines the drivers of migrant atypical employment in the manufacturing sector of Emilia-Romagna, an Italian region that is well known for its high-quality manufacturing productions and industrial relations. By drawing on administrative data based on mandatory communications, we document that, even in such an institutional context, migrants have a disproportionately higher likelihood of being hired through either fixed-term or agency contracts than native workers. We interpret this evidence through a set of different theories, including human capital theory, dual labour market processes, the use of precarious contracts as screening devices, and institutional segmentation theories. The empirical analysis reveals that while migrant employment through fixed-term contracts is consistent with dual processes and screening practices, the hiring of migrants with agency contracts is driven by processes of institutional segmentation, through which employers shift the costs of flexibility to the most vulnerable and less organized segments within the labour force, such as migrants. Managerial and policy implications are discussed.

The rise of wages in China would seem to indicate that the demographic dividend has reached its end. A more refined approach reveals, however, that the situation of Chinese workers has not really improved: even though real wages are rising, the share of wages in the nation’s wealth has not kept pace. The reason for this is China’s position within global value chains, where the employment relationship is not solely governed by the employer–employee power relationship, but by contractual relations established between ‘lead firms’ and subcontractors. This situation echoes labour institutional economist JR Commons’ concept of ‘competitive menace’ and analyses of the structural imbalance of power in the employer/employee relationship. We argue that despite the Chinese government’s desire for industrial upgrading and its intention to develop internal labour markets, Chinese labour institutions have shown significant resistance to change making it hard to envisage any shift towards a Fordist regime of capital accumulation based on a virtuous cycle of mass production and mass consumption.