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How Working Time Reduction Affects Employment and Earnings

Author

Listed:
  • Santos Raposo, P.M.

    (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research)

  • van Ours, J.C.

    (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research)

Abstract

December 1, 1996 Portugal introduced a new law on working hours which gradually reduced the standard workweek from 44 hours to 40 hours. We study how this mandatory working hours reduction affected employment and earnings of workers involved. We find for workers who were affected by the new law that working hours decreased, while hourly wages increased, keeping monthly earnings approximately constant. We also find that the working hours reduction did not lead to an increased job loss of workers directly affected. Finally, we find that workers who themselves were not directly affected were influenced by the working hours reduction indirectly. If they worked in a firm with many workers working more than 40 hours before the change in law was introduced.
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Suggested Citation

  • Santos Raposo, P.M. & van Ours, J.C., 2008. "How Working Time Reduction Affects Employment and Earnings," Discussion Paper 2008-81, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:tiu:tiucen:1f9a2c0d-128d-4137-9bfa-e18e3277a260
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Cardoso, Ana, 2004. "Wage Mobility: Do Institutions Make a Difference? A Replication Study Comparing Portugal and the UK," CEPR Discussion Papers 4355, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. M. J. Andrews & T. Schank & R. Simmons, 2005. "Does Worksharing Work? Some Empirical Evidence From The Iab‐Establishment Panel," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 52(2), pages 141-176, May.
    4. Bruno Crepon & Francis Kramarz, 2002. "Employed 40 Hours or Not Employed 39: Lessons from the 1982 Mandatory Reduction of the Workweek," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(6), pages 1355-1389, December.
    5. Kapteyn, Arie & Kalwij, Adriaan & Zaidi, Asghar, 2004. "The myth of worksharing," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 293-313, June.
    6. Cardoso, Ana Rute, 2006. "Wage mobility: do institutions make a difference?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 387-404, June.
    7. Mikal Skuterud, 2007. "Identifying the Potential of Work-Sharing as a Job-Creation Strategy," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(2), pages 265-287.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pedro Raposo & Jan Ours, 2010. "How a Reduction of Standard Working Hours Affects Employment Dynamics," De Economist, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 193-207, June.
    2. Rafael Sánchez, 2017. "Does a Mandatory Reduction of Standard Working Hours Improve Employees' Health Status?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 3-39, January.
    3. Lee Jieun, 2022. "Effects of a national work hours restriction in a high hours country," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Sánchez, Rafael, 2013. "Do reductions of standard hours affect employment transitions?: Evidence from Chile," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 24-37.
    5. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Naito, Hisahiro & Yokoyama, Izumi, 2017. "Assessing the effects of reducing standard hours: Regression discontinuity evidence from Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 59-76.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Workweek reduction; policy reform; employment dynamics; earnings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

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