IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bfr/banfra/315.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The decreasing returns on working time: An empirical analysis on panel country data

Author

Listed:
  • Cette, G.
  • Chang, S.
  • Konte, M.

Abstract

An empirical analysis is conducted on two panels of 18 OECD countries to test whether the elasticity of hourly productivity to working time is negative and decreasing with working time itself. If so, the decreasing returns on working time could be indicative of a fatigue effect that increases with working time. We find that the elasticity of productivity per hour to working time is negative and decreasing with working time, but its coefficient is not strongly significant. This study offers empirical support for the hypothesis of a fatigue effect that increases with working time, but with some reservations.

Suggested Citation

  • Cette, G. & Chang, S. & Konte, M., 2011. "The decreasing returns on working time: An empirical analysis on panel country data," Working papers 315, Banque de France.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfr:banfra:315
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://publications.banque-france.fr/sites/default/files/medias/documents/working-paper_315_2011.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark E Schaffer & Steven Stillman, 2006. "XTOVERID: Stata module to calculate tests of overidentifying restrictions after xtreg, xtivreg, xtivreg2, xthtaylor," Statistical Software Components S456779, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 15 Jan 2016.
    2. Renaud Bourlès & Gilbert Cette, 2006. "A comparison of structural productivity levels in the major industrialised countries," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2005(2), pages 75-108.
    3. Ian Dew-Becker & Robert J. Gordon, 2008. "The Role of Labor Market Changes in the Slowdown of European Productivity Growth," NBER Working Papers 13840, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. repec:dgr:rugggd:200578 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Belorgey, N. & Lecat, R. & Maury, T-P., 2004. "Déterminants de la productivité par employé : une évaluation empirique en données de panel," Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 121, pages 87-113.
    6. Bourles, Renaud & Cette, Gilbert, 2007. "Trends in "structural" productivity levels in the major industrialized countries," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 151-156, April.
    7. Renaud Bourlès & Gilbert Cette, 2006. "A comparison of structural productivity levels in the major industrialised countries," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2005(2), pages 75-108.
    8. McGuckin, Robert & Ark, Bart van, 2005. "Productivity and participation: an international comparison," GGDC Research Memorandum 200578, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
    9. Christopher F Baum & Steven Stillman, 1999. "DMEXOGXT: Stata module to test consistency of OLS vs XT-IV estimates," Statistical Software Components S401103, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 18 Jun 2003.
    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. Gilbert Cette & Simon Drapala & Jimmy Lopez, 2023. "The Circular Relationship Between Productivity and Hours Worked: A Long-Term Analysis," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(4), pages 650-664, December.
    2. Maya Eden, 2021. "Time‐Inseparable Labor Productivity and the Workweek," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(3), pages 940-965, July.
    3. Emilia Herman & Maria-Ana Georgescu, 2012. "Is there a trade-off between employment and labour productivity in new EU member states?," Romanian Economic Journal, Department of International Business and Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, vol. 15(45), pages 303-318, December.
    4. Dongyeol Lee & Hyunjoon Lim, 2017. "Multiple Thresholds In The Nexus Between Working Hours And Productivity," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(4), pages 716-734, October.
    5. repec:clr:wugarc:y:2016v:42i:04p:665 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Renaud Bourlès & Gilbert Cette & Anastasia Cozarenco, 2012. "Employment and Productivity: Disentangling Employment Structure and Qualification Effects," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 23, pages 44-54, Spring.
    7. Philipp Poyntner, 2016. "Beschäftigungseffekte von Arbeitszeitverkürzung," Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft - WuG, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik, vol. 42(4), pages 665-684.
    8. Dongyeol Lee & Hyunjoon Lim, 2014. "Nonlinearity in Nexus between Working Hours and Productivity," Working Papers 2014-24, Economic Research Institute, Bank of Korea.
    9. Eden,Maya, 2016. "The week," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7598, The World Bank.
    10. Pengfei Wang & Xiang Wei & Diancheng Hu & Fang Meng, 2022. "Does Leisure Contribute to the Improvement of Individual Job Performance? A Field Tracking Study Based on the Chinese Manufacturing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.
    11. Emilia Herman, 2011. "The Impact of Economic Growth Process on Employment in European Union Countries," Romanian Economic Journal, Department of International Business and Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, vol. 14(42), pages 47-67, 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. Renaud Bourlès & Gilbert Cette & Anastasia Cozarenco, 2012. "Employment and Productivity: Disentangling Employment Structure and Qualification Effects," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 23, pages 44-54, Spring.
    2. Dongyeol Lee & Hyunjoon Lim, 2014. "Nonlinearity in Nexus between Working Hours and Productivity," Working Papers 2014-24, Economic Research Institute, Bank of Korea.
    3. Albert van der Horst & Hugo Rojas-Romagosa & Leon Bettendorf, 2009. "Does employment affect productivity?," CPB Discussion Paper 119, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    4. Albert van der Horst & Hugo Rojas-Romagosa & Leon Bettendorf, 2009. "Does employment affect productivity?," CPB Discussion Paper 119.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    5. Raquel Ortega-Argilés, 2012. "The Transatlantic Productivity Gap: A Survey Of The Main Causes," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 395-419, July.
    6. Antonin Bergeaud & Gilbert Cette & Rémy Lecat, 2014. "Le produit intérieur brut par habitant sur longue période en France et dans les pays avancés : le rôle de la productivité et de l’emploi," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 474(1), pages 5-34.
    7. McGrattan, Ellen R. & Prescott, Edward C., 2009. "Openness, technology capital, and development," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 144(6), pages 2454-2476, November.
    8. Gilbert Cette, 2014. "Does ICT Remain a Powerful Engine of Growth," Post-Print hal-01463929, HAL.
    9. Rangel González Erick & López Ornelas Luis Fernando, 2021. "Foreign Direct Investment and Labor Productivity in Regional Manufacturing Industry," Working Papers 2021-12, Banco de México.
    10. Bourles, Renaud & Cette, Gilbert, 2007. "Trends in "structural" productivity levels in the major industrialized countries," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 151-156, April.
    11. Hervé Boulhol & Laure Turner, 2009. "Employment-Productivity Trade-off and Labour Composition," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 698, OECD Publishing.
    12. Philippe Aghion & Philippe Askenazy & Renaud Bourlès & Gilbert Cette & Nicolas Dromel, 2008. "Distance à la frontière technologique, rigidités de marché, éducation et croissance," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 419(1), pages 11-30.
    13. Bergeaud, A. & Cette, G. & Lecat, R., 2015. "Productivity trends from 1890 to 2012 in advanced countries," Rue de la Banque, Banque de France, issue 07, June..
    14. Andrea Bassanini & Danielle Venn, 2008. "The Impact of Labour Market Policies on Productivity in OECD Countries," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 17, pages 3-15, Fall.
    15. Renaud Bourlès & Gilbert Cette & Jimmy Lopez & Jacques Mairesse & Giuseppe Nicoletti, 2013. "Do Product Market Regulations In Upstream Sectors Curb Productivity Growth? Panel Data Evidence For OECD Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1750-1768, December.
    16. Maya Eden, 2021. "Time‐Inseparable Labor Productivity and the Workweek," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(3), pages 940-965, July.
    17. Hugo Erken & Piet Donselaar & Roy Thurik, 2018. "Total factor productivity and the role of entrepreneurship," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(6), pages 1493-1521, December.
    18. repec:crs:ecosta:es419-420b is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Eden,Maya, 2016. "The week," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7598, The World Bank.
    20. Bart van Ark & Mary O'Mahoney & Marcel P. Timmer, 2008. "The Productivity Gap between Europe and the United States: Trends and Causes," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 25-44, Winter.
    21. Gilbert Cette & Yusuf Kocoglu & Jacques Mairesse, 2009. "Productivity Growth and Levels in France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States in the Twentieth Century," NBER Working Papers 15577, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity; Working time; decreasing returns.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • F01 - International Economics - - General - - - Global Outlook
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:bfr:banfra:315. 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: Michael brassart (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bdfgvfr.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.