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The Response of Wages and Actual Hours Worked to the Reduction of Standard Hours in Germany

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  • Jennifer Hunt

Abstract

A transformation of what had become a universal 40-hour standard working week in Germany began in 1985 with reductions negotiated in the metal-working and printing sectors. These reductions have continued through 1995, and were followed by reductions in other sectors. The union campaign aimed to increase employment through ‘work-sharing’, and is being emulated in the United States with the launch of a reduced hours campaign by the AFL-CIO. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, I find that increased overtime or reduced short time was little used to offset the reduction in standard hours: a one-hour reduction in standard hours appears to have translated into a reduction in actual hours worked of between 0.85 and 1 hour for workers in manufacturing. One might expect this to have resulted in a loss of earnings for workers in affected industries. I substantiate the union’s claim of ‘full wage compensation’, however: reductions in standard hours were accompanied by a relative rise in the hourly straight-time wage of 2–3% for each hour fall in standard hours; enough to keep monthly earnings the same as in unaffected industries.
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Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Hunt, 1996. "The Response of Wages and Actual Hours Worked to the Reduction of Standard Hours in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 138, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp138
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Dur, Robert A. J., 2001. "Explaining unemployment trends in the Netherlands," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 161-168, February.
    2. David M. Gray, 2002. "Early Retirement Programs and Wage Restraint: Empirical Evidence from France," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(3), pages 512-532, April.
    3. Victoria Osuna & Jose-Victor Rios-Rull, 2003. "Implementing the 35 Hour Workweek by Means of Overtime Taxation," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 6(1), pages 179-206, January.
    4. Juha Kilponen & Pekka Sinko, 2005. "Taxation And Centralised Wage Setting: The Case Of Endogenous Labour Supply," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 52(4), pages 587-606, September.
    5. Kapteyn, Arie & Kalwij, Adriaan & Zaidi, Asghar, 2004. "The myth of worksharing," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 293-313, June.
    6. Tor Jacobson & Henry Ohlsson, 2000. "Working time, employment, and work sharing: Evidence from Sweden," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 169-187.
    7. Carlos Medina D. & José Escobar R., 2007. "The Effects of Changes in the Legal Work Shift on Wages and Hours Worked in Colombia," Coyuntura Social 12866, Fedesarrollo.
    8. Jennifer Hunt, 1999. "Has Work-Sharing Worked in Germany?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 117-148.
    9. Daniel S. Hamermesh & Stephen J. Trejo, 2000. "The Demand for Hours of Labor: Direct Evidence from California," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 38-47, February.
    10. repec:aia:aiaswp:wp5 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Marimon, Ramon & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2000. "Employment and distributional effects of restricting working time," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1291-1326, June.
    12. Börsch-Supan, Axel, 2002. "Reduction of Working Time: Does it Decrease Unemployment?," MEA discussion paper series 02003, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    13. Baek, Ehung Gi & Oh, Wankeun, 2004. "The short-run production effect of the reduction of working hours," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 123-144, January.
    14. Carlos Medina & José Escobar, 2006. "Changes in Daytime Hours of Work and Employment in Colombia," Borradores de Economia 2115, Banco de la Republica.
    15. Ángel Luis Martin Roman & Alfonso Moral de Blas, 2002. "Efectos de las variaciones en el tiempo de trabajo sobre la ocupación adolescente y juvenil en el sector industrial: un análisis regional," Revista de Estudios Regionales, Universidades Públicas de Andalucía, vol. 1, pages 51-77.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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