IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/labeco/v60y2019icp115-128.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does schedule irregularity affect productivity? Evidence from random assignment into college classes

Author

Listed:
  • Lusher, Lester
  • Yasenov, Vasil
  • Luong, Phuc

Abstract

Workers with irregular or on-call work schedules constitute up to 17% of the workforce in the US. We identify the causal impact of schedule regularity on productivity by leveraging data from a Vietnamese university where freshmen were randomly assigned into highly-varying course schedules. Some schedules had consistent start times across the week, while others had extreme shifts in daily start times. Though we find a robust relationship between schedules and self-reported sleep, we precisely estimate no discernible differences in achievement across students with differing start time variability. Like prior studies, we find gains in achievement to delayed start times.

Suggested Citation

  • Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil & Luong, Phuc, 2019. "Does schedule irregularity affect productivity? Evidence from random assignment into college classes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 115-128.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:60:y:2019:i:c:p:115-128
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2019.06.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537119300600
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.labeco.2019.06.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gibson, Matthew & Shrader, Jeffrey, 2014. "Time Use and Productivity: The Wage Returns to Sleep," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt8zp518hc, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    2. Alexandre Mas & Amanda Pallais, 2017. "Valuing Alternative Work Arrangements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(12), pages 3722-3759, December.
    3. Lester Lusher & Vasil Yasenov, 2018. "Gender Performance Gaps: Quasi‐Experimental Evidence On The Role Of Gender Differences In Sleep Cycles," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 252-262, January.
    4. Nicolai T. Borgen, 2016. "Fixed effects in unconditional quantile regression," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 16(2), pages 403-415, June.
    5. Sergio Firpo & Nicole M. Fortin & Thomas Lemieux, 2009. "Unconditional Quantile Regressions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(3), pages 953-973, May.
    6. Scott E. Carrell & James E. West, 2010. "Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from Random Assignment of Students to Professors," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(3), pages 409-432, June.
    7. Peter Hinrichs, 2011. "When the Bell Tolls: The Effects of School Starting Times on Academic Achievement," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 6(4), pages 486-507, October.
    8. Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil, 2016. "Double-shift schooling and student success: Quasi-experimental evidence from Europe," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 36-39.
    9. Beattie, Graham & Laliberté, Jean-William P. & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2018. "Thrivers and divers: Using non-academic measures to predict college success and failure," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 170-182.
    10. Edwards, Finley, 2012. "Early to rise? The effect of daily start times on academic performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 970-983.
    11. Scott E. Carrell & Teny Maghakian & James E. West, 2011. "A's from Zzzz's? The Causal Effect of School Start Time on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 62-81, August.
    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. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Pfann, Gerard A., 2022. "The Variability and Volatility of Sleep: An Archetypal Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 15001, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Glaser, Darrell J. & Insler, Michael A., 2022. "The deleterious effects of fatigue on final exam performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Pfann, Gerard A., 2022. "The variability and volatility of sleep: An ARCHetypal behavior," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).

    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. Luong, Phuc & Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil, 2017. "Sleep and Student Success: The Role of Regularity vs. Duration," IZA Discussion Papers 11079, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Williams, Kevin M. & Shapiro, Teny Maghakian, 2018. "Academic achievement across the day: Evidence from randomized class schedules," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 158-170.
    3. Groen, Jeffrey A. & Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff, 2019. "Snooze or lose: High school start times and academic achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 204-218.
    4. Herber, Stefanie P. & Quis, Johanna Sophie & Heineck, Guido, 2017. "Does the transition into daylight saving time affect students’ performance?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 130-139.
    5. Valerie Bostwick & Stefanie Fischer & Matthew Lang, 2022. "Semesters or Quarters? The Effect of the Academic Calendar on Postsecondary Student Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 40-80, February.
    6. Lenard, Matthew & Morrill, Melinda Sandler & Westall, John, 2020. "High school start times and student achievement: Looking beyond test scores," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Wang, Kurt & Sabia, Joseph J. & Cesur, Resul, 2016. "Sleepwalking through School: New Evidence on Sleep and Academic Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 9829, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Haggag, Kareem & Patterson, Richard W. & Pope, Nolan G. & Feudo, Aaron, 2021. "Attribution bias in major decisions: Evidence from the United States Military Academy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    9. Osea Giuntella & Wei Han & Fabrizio Mazzonna, 2017. "Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, and Cognitive Skills: Evidence From an Unsleeping Giant," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1715-1742, October.
    10. Teny Maghakian Shapiro, 2015. "The educational effects of school start times," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 181-181, August.
    11. Giuntella, Osea & Mazzonna, Fabrizio, 2016. "If You Don't Snooze You Lose: Evidence on Health and Weight," IZA Discussion Papers 9773, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Thompson, Paul N., 2019. "Effects of Four-Day School Weeks on Student Achievement: Evidence from Oregon," IZA Discussion Papers 12204, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Valerie K. Bostwick, 2018. "Saved By The Morning Bell: School Start Time And Teen Car Accidents," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 591-606, October.
    14. Lusher, Lester & Yasenov, Vasil, 2016. "Double-shift schooling and student success: Quasi-experimental evidence from Europe," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 36-39.
    15. Ha, Hyungserk & Jung, Eun Jin & Koh, Kanghyock, 2021. "Does a delayed school start time cause students to exercise less? Evidence from South Korea," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    16. Timothy M. Diette & Manu Raghav, 2017. "Does early bird catch the worm or a lower GPA? Evidence from a liberal arts college," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(33), pages 3341-3350, July.
    17. Cotti, Chad & Gordanier, John & Ozturk, Orgul, 2018. "Class meeting frequency, start times, and academic performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 12-15.
    18. Giuntella, Osea & Mazzonna, Fabrizio, 2019. "Sunset time and the economic effects of social jetlag: evidence from US time zone borders," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 210-226.
    19. Lester Lusher & Vasil Yasenov, 2018. "Gender Performance Gaps: Quasi‐Experimental Evidence On The Role Of Gender Differences In Sleep Cycles," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 252-262, January.
    20. Joseph J. Sabia & Kurt Wang & Resul Cesur, 2017. "Sleepwalking Through School: New Evidence On Sleep And Academic Achievement," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 331-344, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    School start time; Irregular schedules; Productivity; Education policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

    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:eee:labeco:v:60:y:2019:i:c:p:115-128. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/labeco .

    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.