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Does schedule irregularity affect productivity? Evidence from random assignment into college classes

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  • Lusher, Lester
  • Yasenov, Vasil
  • Luong, Phuc

Abstract

Workers with irregular or on-call work schedules constitute up to 17% of the workforce in the US. We identify the causal impact of schedule regularity on productivity by leveraging data from a Vietnamese university where freshmen were randomly assigned into highly-varying course schedules. Some schedules had consistent start times across the week, while others had extreme shifts in daily start times. Though we find a robust relationship between schedules and self-reported sleep, we precisely estimate no discernible differences in achievement across students with differing start time variability. Like prior studies, we find gains in achievement to delayed start times.

Suggested Citation

  • Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil & Luong, Phuc, 2019. "Does schedule irregularity affect productivity? Evidence from random assignment into college classes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 115-128.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:60:y:2019:i:c:p:115-128
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2019.06.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Lester Lusher & Vasil Yasenov, 2018. "Gender Performance Gaps: Quasi‐Experimental Evidence On The Role Of Gender Differences In Sleep Cycles," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 252-262, January.
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    7. Peter Hinrichs, 2011. "When the Bell Tolls: The Effects of School Starting Times on Academic Achievement," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 6(4), pages 486-507, October.
    8. Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil, 2016. "Double-shift schooling and student success: Quasi-experimental evidence from Europe," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 36-39.
    9. Beattie, Graham & Laliberté, Jean-William P. & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2018. "Thrivers and divers: Using non-academic measures to predict college success and failure," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 170-182.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Pfann, Gerard A., 2022. "The Variability and Volatility of Sleep: An Archetypal Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 15001, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Glaser, Darrell J. & Insler, Michael A., 2022. "The deleterious effects of fatigue on final exam performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Justine Hervé & Subha Mani & Jere Behrman & Ramanan Laxminarayan, 2024. "Food Coma is Real: The Effect of Digestive Fatigue on Adolescents’ Cognitive Performance," PIER Working Paper Archive 24-011, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    4. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Pfann, Gerard A., 2022. "The variability and volatility of sleep: An ARCHetypal behavior," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School start time; Irregular schedules; Productivity; Education policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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