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Reduction of Working Time: Does It Lead to a Healthy Lifestyle?

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  • Taehyun Ahn

Abstract

I examine whether working hours have a causal effect on the health behaviors of workers. In assessing the causal relationship, I estimate fixed‐effects instrumental variable models by using exogenous variation in adopting a reduced workweek in South Korea as an instrument for work hours. The estimation results reveal that shortening work hours induces individuals to exercise regularly and decreases the likelihood of smoking, with more pronounced effects for heavy smokers. While a work‐hour reduction substantially increases the probability of drinking participation, it does not significantly affect the likelihood of frequent or daily drinking habits. In addition, the effect of a work‐hour reduction on regular exercise is salient among women and older groups, and the effect on smoking behaviors is more pronounced among men and middle‐aged groups. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Taehyun Ahn, 2016. "Reduction of Working Time: Does It Lead to a Healthy Lifestyle?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(8), pages 969-983, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:25:y:2016:i:8:p:969-983
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3198
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    2. Selene Y. Tobin & Tanya M. Halliday & Kimberley Shoaf & Ryan D. Burns & Kelly G. Baron, 2024. "Associations of Anxiety, Insomnia, and Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(4), pages 1-12, April.
    3. Fei Zhang & Wei Xu & Adnan Khurshid, 2023. "The Interplay of Migrant Workers’ Working Hours, Income, and Well-Being in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-14, July.
    4. Hu, Zhi-An & Liu, Chang & Wen, Yiping, 2024. "Working hours and employee health: Evidence from China's workweek reduction policy," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. Berniell, Inés & Bietenbeck, Jan, 2020. "The effect of working hours on health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    6. Andrea Albanese & Bart Cockx & Yannick Thuy, 2020. "Working time reductions at the end of the career: Do they prolong the time spent in employment?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 99-141, July.
    7. Stéphane Carcillo & Alexander Hijzen & Stefan Thewissen, 2024. "The limitations of overtime limits to reduce long working hours: Evidence from the 2018 to 2021 working time reform in Korea," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 98-126, March.
    8. Park, Yoonsoo & Park, Wooram, 2017. "The Impact of a Workweek Reduction on Labor Productivity," KDI Policy Forum 267, Korea Development Institute (KDI).
    9. Terhi Ravaska, 2023. "Do reduced working hours for older workers have health consequences and prolong work careers?," Working Papers 6, Finnish Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research.
    10. Nur Nahar Yasmin, 2024. "Four-day workweek in corporate sector: post-pandemic work arrangement for Bangladesh," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(7), pages 1-26, July.
    11. Ravaska, Terhi, 2023. "Do reduced working hours for older workers have health consequences and prolong work careers?," Working Papers 153, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    12. Cieplinski, André & D'Alessandro, Simone & Dwarkasing, Chandni & Guarnieri, Pietro, 2023. "Narrowing women’s time and income gaps: An assessment of the synergies between working time reduction and universal income schemes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    13. Taehyun Ahn, 2022. "Workweek reduction and women's job turnover: Evidence from labor legislation in South Korea," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(4), pages 1607-1625, October.
    14. Lauren E. Jones & Guangyi Wang & Tansel Yilmazer, 2022. "The long‐term effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit on women's physical and mental health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(6), pages 1067-1102, June.

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