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Are part-time workers less productive and underpaid?

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  • Andrea Garnero

    (OECD, France, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

About one in five workers across OECD countries is employed part-time, and the share has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis in 2007. Part-time options play an important economic role by providing more flexible working arrangements for both workers and firms. Part-time employment has also contributed substantially to increasing the employment rate, especially among women. However, part-time work comes at a cost of lower wages for workers, mainly because part-time jobs are concentrated in lower paying occupations and sectors, while the impact on firms’ productivity is still not very clear.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Garnero, 2016. "Are part-time workers less productive and underpaid?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 249-249, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2016:n:249
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Devicienti, Francesco & Grinza, Elena & Vannoni, Davide, 2015. "The Impact of Part-Time Work on Firm Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Italy," IZA Discussion Papers 9463, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Garnero, Andrea & Kampelmann, Stephan & Rycx, François, 2013. "Part-time Work, Wages and Productivity: Evidence from Belgian Matched Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 7789, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    4. Síle O'Dorchai & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2007. "The part‐time wage penalty in European countries: how large is it for men?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(7), pages 571-603, October.
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    8. Eleonora Matteazzi & Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz, 2014. "Part-Time Wage Penalties for Women in Prime Age," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(3), pages 955-985, July.
    9. Barry T. Hirsch, 2005. "Why Do Part-Time Workers Earn Less? The Role of Worker and Job Skills," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(4), pages 525-551, July.
    10. François Rycx & Andrea Garnero & Stephan Kampelmann, 2014. "part-time work, Wages and Productivity :Evidence from Matched panel data," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/245672, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. Giovanni Russo & Wolter Hassink, 2008. "The Part-Time Wage Gap: a Career Perspective," De Economist, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 145-174, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ulrike Huemer & Julia Bock-Schappelwein & Ulrike Famira-Mühlberger & Hedwig Lutz & Christine Mayrhuber, 2017. "Österreich 2025 – Arbeitszeitverteilung in Österreich. Analyse und Optionen aus Sicht der Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 59285.
    2. Marie Boltz & Bart Cockx & Ana Maria Diaz & Luz Magdalena Salas, 2023. "How does working‐time flexibility affect workers' productivity in a routine job? Evidence from a field experiment," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 159-187, March.
    3. Boltz, Marie & Cockx, Bart & Diaz, Ana Maria & Salas, Luz Magdalena, 2020. "How does working-time flexibility affect workers’ productivity in a routine job?," ROA Research Memorandum 010, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    part-time workers; productivity; wage gap; labor market segregation; labor market flexibility; work−life balance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General

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