By contrast, all other countries are characterised by intermediate-to-strict regulations on both temporary contracts and individual dismissals. In most countries, however, the principle of freedom of contracts continued to dominate until the early 1960s (see e.g. Sigeman, 2002, Deakin and Wilkinson, 2005, Autor et al., Indeed, most of employment protection norms in the modern form were developed through legislation, collective agreements or court rulings between 1960 and 1980 (see also OECD, 1999).