IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/iza/izawol/journly2017n397.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why does part-time employment increase in recessions?

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Borowczyk-Martins

    (Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

The share of workers employed part-time increases substantially in economic downturns. How should this phenomenon be interpreted? One hypothesis is that part-time jobs are more prevalent in sectors that are less sensitive to the business cycle, so that recessionary changes in the sectoral composition of employment explain the increase in part-time employment. The evidence shows, however, that this hypothesis only accounts for a small part of the story. Instead, the growth of part-time work operates mainly through reductions in working hours in existing jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Borowczyk-Martins, 2017. "Why does part-time employment increase in recessions?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 397-397, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2017:n:397
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://wol.iza.org/uploads/articles/397/pdfs/why-does-part-time-employment-increase-in-recessions.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://wol.iza.org/articles/why-does-part-time-employment-increase-in-recessions
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tito Boeri & Herbert Bruecker, 2011. "Short-time work benefits revisited: some lessons from the Great Recession [‘Reversed roles? Wage and employment effects of the current crisis’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(68), pages 697-765.
    2. Alan Manning & Barbara Petrongolo, 2008. "The Part‐Time Pay Penalty for Women in Britain," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(526), pages 28-51, February.
    3. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2014. "Employment Adjustment and Part-time Jobs: The US and the UK in the Great Recession," Working Papers hal-03429888, HAL.
    4. Ohanian, Lee E. & Raffo, Andrea, 2012. "Aggregate hours worked in OECD countries: New measurement and implications for business cycles," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 40-56.
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Michael C. Burda & Jennifer Hunt, 2011. "What Explains the German Labor Market Miracle in the Great Recession," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 42(1 (Spring), pages 273-335.
    7. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2016. "The Rise of Part-time Employment," Working Papers hal-01311976, HAL.
    8. repec:ilo:ilowps:483968 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Maria E. Canon & Marianna Kudlyak & Guannan Luo & Marisa Reed, 2014. "Flows To and From Working Part Time for Economic Reasons and the Labor Market Aggregates During and After the 2007-09 Recession," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue 2Q, pages 87-111.
    11. Thomas C. Buchmueller & John DiNardo & Robert G. Valletta, 2011. "The Effect of an Employer Health Insurance Mandate on Health Insurance Coverage and the Demand for Labor: Evidence from Hawaii," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 25-51, November.
    12. Lepage-Saucier, Nicolas, 2016. "The consumption response to temporary layoffs and hours losses," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 177-193.
    13. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Dillender, Marcus O. & Heinrich, Carolyn J. & Houseman, Susan N., 2016. "Health insurance reform and part-time work: Evidence from Massachusetts," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 151-158.
    15. Fagan, Colette. & Norman, Helen. & Smith, Mark. & Gonzalez Menendez, María C., 2014. "In search of good quality part-time employment," ILO Working Papers 994839683402676, International Labour Organization.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Borowczyk-Martins, Daniel & Lalé, Etienne, 2020. "The ins and outs of involuntary part-time employment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Jose Garcia-Louzao & Kristijonas Vėlyvis, 2021. "Beyond the Traditional Unemployment Rate during Covid-19 in Lithuania," Bank of Lithuania Occasional Paper Series 40, Bank of Lithuania.
    3. Hirokazu Mizobata, 2024. "Japan’s dual labor market and its macroeconomic characteristics," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 165-196, July.
    4. Miežienė Rasa & Krutulienė Sandra & Gruževskis Boguslavas, 2021. "Identifying the Main Determinants of Part-Time Employment in EU Countries," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 21(2), pages 151-171, June.
    5. Toshihiko Mukoyama & Mototsugu Shintani & Kazuhiro Teramoto, 2021. "Cyclical Part‐Time Employment in an Estimated New Keynesian Model with Search Frictions," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(8), pages 1929-1968, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Borowczyk-Martins, Daniel & Lalé, Etienne, 2020. "The ins and outs of involuntary part-time employment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2019. "Employment Adjustment and Part-Time Work: Lessons from the United States and the United Kingdom," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 389-435, January.
    4. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/4f4eu80n0h8r28g6dadlk02mtb is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2016. "The Rise of Part-time Employment," SciencePo Working papers hal-01311976, HAL.
    8. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2018. "The welfare effects of involuntary part-time work," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(1), pages 183-205.
    9. Robert G. Valletta & Leila Bengali & Catherine van der List, 2020. "Cyclical and Market Determinants of Involuntary Part-Time Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(1), pages 67-93.
    10. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/7arg7blugi9b2o08qjafcpg8e2 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Booth, A.L. & van Ours, J.C., 2007. "Job Satisfaction And Family Happiness : The Part-Time Work Problem," Discussion Paper 2007-69, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    15. Fernández-Kranz, Daniel & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2011. "The part-time pay penalty in a segmented labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 591-606, October.
    16. Reamonn Lydon & Thomas Y. Mathä & Stephen Millard, 2019. "Short-time work in the Great Recession: firm-level evidence from 20 EU countries," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-29, December.
    17. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2016-005 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Baumgarten, Daniel & Kvasnicka, Michael, 2017. "Temporary agency work and the Great Recession," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 29-44.
    19. Britta Gehrke & Brigitte Hochmuth, 2021. "Counteracting Unemployment in Crises: Non‐Linear Effects of Short‐Time Work Policy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 144-183, January.
    20. Kruppe, Thomas & Scholz, Theresa, 2014. "Labour hoarding in Germany : employment effects of short-time work during the crises," IAB-Discussion Paper 201417, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    21. Annemarie Künn-Nelen & Andries de Grip & Didier Fouarge, 2013. "Is Part-Time Employment Beneficial for Firm Productivity?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(5), pages 1172-1191, October.
    22. Maarten Dossche & Andrea Gavazzi & Vivien Lewis, 2023. "Labor Adjustment and Productivity in the OECD," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 47, pages 111-130, January.
    23. Menta, Giorgia & Lepinteur, Anthony, 2021. "Boys don’t cry (or do the dishes): Family size and the housework gender gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 164-188.
    24. Krebs, Tom & Scheffel, Martin, 2016. "Structural Reform in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 9787, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    25. Hassani Nezhad, Lena, 2020. "Female Employment and Childcare," IZA Discussion Papers 13839, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    26. Fabian Bornhorst & Mr. Ashoka Mody, 2012. "Tests of German Resilience," IMF Working Papers 2012/239, International Monetary Fund.
    27. Daniel Borowczyk-Martins & Etienne Lalé, 2014. "Employment Adjustment and Part-time Jobs: The US and the UK in the Great Recession," Working Papers hal-03429888, HAL.
    28. Karabchuk, Tatiana, 2012. "Part-time and temporary workers in Russia: winners or losers?," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 45(1), pages 23-39.
    29. Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska & Anna Lovasz, 2017. "The Impact of Parenthood on the Gender Wage Gap – a Comparative Analysis of 26 European Countries," Working Papers 2017-25, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    part-time work; involuntary; business cycles;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2017:n:397. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.