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Why do Europeans work part-time? A cross-country panel analysis

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  • Buddelmeyer, Hielke
  • Mourre, Gilles
  • Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie

Abstract

This empirical paper seeks to determine the relative contribution of the business cycle and structural factors to the development of part-time employment in the EU-15 countries over the 1980s and 1990s, exploiting a panel of EU countries. In the short-run, the business cycle is found to exert a short-term negative effect on part-time employment developments, which is consistent with firms utilising part-time work to adjust their labour force to changing economic conditions. Institutions and other structural factors such as changes in legislation affecting part-time employment are found to be key drivers of the rate of part-time employment, significant in the longer run. Overall, although the role of individual factors differs in the 1980s and 1990s, a contribution analysis considering the most significant factors shows that the main structural and institutional variables generally well explain the development in the part-time employment rate in the EU countries, which is not the case in the United States. JEL Classification: J21, J22, J28, J68

Suggested Citation

  • Buddelmeyer, Hielke & Mourre, Gilles & Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie, 2008. "Why do Europeans work part-time? A cross-country panel analysis," Working Paper Series 872, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:2008872
    Note: 171133
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    Cited by:

    1. Frédéric SALLADARRÉ & Stéphane HLAIMI, 2014. "Women and part-time work in Europe," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(2), pages 293-310, June.
    2. Bosch, Nicole & Deelen, Anja & Euwals, Rob, 2008. "Is Part-time Employment Here To Stay? Evidence from the Dutch Labour Force Survey 1992–2005," IZA Discussion Papers 3367, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Fialová Kamila, 2017. "Part-time Employment and Business Cycle in Central and Eastern Europe," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 17(2), pages 179-203, June.
    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. O’Sullivan Maeve & Cross Christine & Lavelle Jonathan, 2020. "The forgotten labour force: Characteristics and trends for older female part-time workers in Ireland," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 39(1), pages 47-60, August.
    6. Nicole Bosch & Anja Deelen & Rob Euwals, 2010. "Is Part‐time Employment Here to Stay? Working Hours of Dutch Women over Successive Generations," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 24(1), pages 35-54, March.
    7. 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.
    8. Michail Veliziotis & Manos Matsaganis & Alexandros Karakitsios, 2015. "Involuntary part-time employment: perspectives from two European labour markets," ImPRovE Working Papers 15/02, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    9. International Labour Office., 2013. "Global employment trends for youth 2013 : a generation at risk," Global Employment Trends Reports 994816973402676, International Labour Office, Economic and Labour Market Analysis Department.
    10. Gilles Mourre, 2009. "What explains the differences in income and labour utilisation and drives labour and economic growth in Europe? A GDP accounting perspective," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 354, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    11. Dag Ingvar Jacobsen & Elin M. Fjeldbraaten, 2020. "Exploring the Links Between Part-Time Employment and Absenteeism: the Mediating Roles of Organizational Commitment and Work-Family Conflict," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 129-143, March.
    12. Abu Elnasr Sobaih & Philip Coleman & Caroline Ritchie & Eleri Jones, 2010. "Part-time restaurant employee perceptions of management practices: An empirical investigation," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(11), pages 1749-1768, January.
    13. European Commission, 2011. "Tax Reforms in EU Member States 2011: tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability," Taxation Papers 28, Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission.
    14. Nicole Bosch & Anja Deelen & Rob Euwals, 2008. "Is part-time employment here to stay? Evidence from the Dutch Labour Force Survey 1992-2005," CPB Discussion Paper 100.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    15. Valeria Insarauto, 2021. "Women’s Vulnerability to the Economic Crisis through the Lens of Part-time Work in Spain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(4), pages 621-639, August.
    16. Jeroen Horemans, 2016. "The part-time poverty gap across Europe: How institutions affect the way part-time and full-time workers avoid poverty differently," Working Papers 1603, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    17. Bárcena-Martín, Elena & Medina-Claros, Samuel & Pérez-Moreno, Salvador, 2020. "Gendered Effects of Employment Protection on Earnings Mobility," GLO Discussion Paper Series 547, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Bei Liu & Hong Chen & Xinru Huang, 2018. "Map Changes and Theme Evolution in Work Hours: A Co-Word Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    institutions; Labour market policies; labour supply; Part-time employment; regulations.; the business cycle; working time organisation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy

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