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Addiction to work: An Inelastic Wage Elasticity of Labour Supply Equals Long Hours of Work

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  • Donatella Cavagnoli

    (La Trobe University)

Abstract

A phenomenon of the last twenty years is the growth of ‘very long hours’ of work, especially amongst high-skilled labour. This is an unexpected reversal of a long trend in the opposite direction. This paper criticises the Beckerian analysis of labour-leisure choice. It argues that the more time is consumed in paid work, the more are preferences for paid work affected by it; thereby creating a vicious cycle of consumption patterns which lead to longer than expected hours of work.

Suggested Citation

  • Donatella Cavagnoli, 2008. "Addiction to work: An Inelastic Wage Elasticity of Labour Supply Equals Long Hours of Work," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 11(2), pages 129-147.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:11:y:2008:i:2:p:129-147
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harry Clarke, 2000. "Addictive Consumption under Conditions of Risk," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 76(234), pages 263-272, September.
    2. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
    3. Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 33-58, January.
    4. Hamermesh Daniel S. & Slemrod Joel B, 2008. "The Economics of Workaholism: We Should Not Have Worked on This Paper," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-30, January.
    5. Yi-Ping Tseng & Mark Wooden, 2005. "Preferred vs Actual Working Hours in Couple Households," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2005n07, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    6. Hielke Buddelmeyer & John Creedy & Guyonne Kalb, 2007. "Tax Policy Design and Behavioural Microsimulation Modelling," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 4235.
    7. Jacob Mincer, 1993. "Studies In Labor Supply," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 317.
    8. Jacob Mincer, 1958. "Investment in Human Capital and Personal Income Distribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(4), pages 281-281.
    9. Elisa‐Rose Birch, 2005. "Studies of the Labour Supply of Australian Women: What Have We Learned?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 81(252), pages 65-84, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Donatella Cavagnoli, 2012. "The Labour Supply Curve: A Pluralist Approach to Investigate its Measurements," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 23(3), pages 71-88, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Time Allocation and Labor Supply; Labor Economics; General Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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