This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Employment and Distributional Effects of Restricting Working Time

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Marimon, Ramon
Zilibotti, Fabrizio

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

We study the emplyment and distributional effects of regulating (reducing) working time in a general equilibrium model with search-matching frictions. Job creation entails some fixed costs, but existing jobs are subject to diminishing returns. We characterize the equilibrium in the de-regulated economy where large firms and individual workers freely negotiate wages and hours. Then, we consider the effects of a legislation restricting the maximum working time, while we let wages respond endogenously. In general, this regulation benefits workers, both unemployed and employed (even if wages decrease), but reduces profits and and output. Employment effects are sensitive to the representation of preferences. In our benchmark, small reductions in working time, starting from the laissez-faire equilibrium solution, always increase employment, while larger reductions reduce employment. However, the employment gains from reducing working time are relatively small

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP2127.asp
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 2127.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Apr 1999
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2127

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 53--56 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DG
Phone: 44 - 20 - 7183 8801
Fax: 44 - 20 - 7183 8820

Order Information:
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords: Hours Reduction; Leisure; Search; Unemployment; Wage; Work Sharing; Working Time;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution
E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Correia, Isabel & Neves, Joao C. & Rebelo, Sergio, 1995. "Business cycles in a small open economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 1089-1113, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Shulamit B. Kahn & Kevin Lang, 1995. "The Causes of Hours Constraints: Evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 28(4a), pages 914-28, November.
  3. Calmfors, Lars & Hoel, Michael, 1988. " Work Sharing and Overtime," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 90(1), pages 45-62.
  4. Booth, Alison & Schiantarelli, Fabio, 1987. "The Employment Effects of a Shorter Working Week," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 54(214), pages 237-48, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Hunt, Jennifer, 1997. "Has Work Sharing Worked in Germany?," CEPR Discussion Papers 1553, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Greenwood, Jeremy & Hercowitz, Zvi & Huffman, Gregory W, 1988. "Investment, Capacity Utilization, and the Real Business Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 402-17, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Linda Bell & Richard Freeman, 1994. "Why Do Americans and Germans Work Different Hours?," NBER Working Papers 4808, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Correia, I. & Rabelo, S. & Naves, J.C., 1994. "Business Cycles in a Small Open Economy," RCER Working Papers 382, University of Rochester - Center for Economic Research (RCER).
    Other versions:
  9. Terry J. Fitzgerald, 1998. "Reducing working hours: a general equilibrium analysis," Working Paper 9801, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
  10. Hunt, Jennifer, 1996. "The Response of Wages and Actual Hours Worked to the Reduction of Standard Hours in Germany," CEPR Discussion Papers 1526, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Stewart, Mark B & Swaffield, Joanna K, 1997. "Constraints on the Desired Hours of Work of British Men," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(441), pages 520-35, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Guillaume ROCHETEAU, 2000. "Working Time Regulation in a Search Economy with Worker Moral Hazard," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'Econométrie et d'Economie politique (DEEP) 00.06, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, DEEP. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Bertil Holmlund, . "Labor Taxation in Search Equilibrium with Home Production," EPRU Working Paper Series 00-05, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Alesina, Alberto F & Glaeser, Edward L & Sacerdote, Bruce, 2005. "Work and Leisure in the US and Europe: Why So Different?," CEPR Discussion Papers 5140, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Camille Logeay & Sven Schreiber, 2006. "Testing the effectiveness of the French work-sharing reform: a forecasting approach," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 38(17), pages 2053-2068, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Jonathan Heathcote, 2003. "Fiscal Policy with Heterogeneous Agents and Incomplete Markets," Working Papers gueconwpa~03-03-23, Georgetown University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. María A. Davia & Óscar D. Marcenaro-Gutiérrez, 2007. "Exploring the link between employment search time and reservation wages in Southern Europe," Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces E2007/13, Centro de Estudios Andaluces. [Downloadable!]
  6. Thomas Moutos & William Scarth, 2000. "Work-Sharing: an Efficiency-Wage Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  7. Cahuc, Pierre & Wasmer, Etienne, 2001. "Labour Market Efficiency, Wages and Employment when Search Frictions Interact with Intrafirm Bargaining," CEPR Discussion Papers 2812, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Matthias Doepke & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2005. "The Macroeconomics of Child Labor Regulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1492-1524, December. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Victoria Osuna, 2009. "Should we tax overtime, subsidize the wage or subsidize employment?," Working Papers 09.03, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  10. Camille Logeay & Sven Schreiber, 2005. "Testing the effectiveness of the French work-sharing reform: a forecasting approach," IMK Working Paper 03-2005, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute. [Downloadable!]
  11. Antonio García Sánchez & María del Mar Vázquez Méndez, 2005. "The timing of work in a general equilibrium model with shiftwork," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 29(1), pages 149-179, January. [Downloadable!]
  12. María Angeles Davia & Oscar D. Marcenaro Gutiérrez, 2008. "Exploring the link between employment search time and reservation," Hacienda Pública Española, IEF, vol. 186(3), pages 91-121, October. [Downloadable!]
  13. Regt,E.R.,de, 2004. "Hourly wages and working time in the Dutch market sector 1962-1995," Research Memoranda 028, Maastricht : METEOR, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization. [Downloadable!]
  14. Steiner, Viktor & Peters, Ralf-Henning, 2000. "Employment effects of work sharing : an econometric analysis for West Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-20, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  15. Patrick Artus & Pierre Cahuc & André Zylberberg, 2007. "Réglementation du temps de travail, revenu et emploi," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00255820_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
  16. Noritaka Kudoh & Masaru Sasaki, 2007. "Employment and Hours of Work," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 07-35, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics and Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  17. Lars Calmfors & Giancarlo Corsetti & Seppo Honkapohja & John Kay & Willi Leibfritz & Gilles Saint-Paul & Hans-Werner Sinn & Xavier Vives, 2005. "Chapter 3: Longer Working Hours - the Beginning of a new Trend?," EEAG Report on the European Economy, CESifo Group Munich, vol. 0, pages 51-68, 03. [Downloadable!]
  18. Victoria Osuna Padilla & José-Víctor Ríos-Rull, 2002. "Implementing the 35 Hour Workweek by Means of Overtime Taxation," Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces E2002/04, Centro de Estudios Andaluces. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  19. Luca Deidda & Fabio Cerina, 2002. "Do we need more time for leisure?," Working Paper CRENoS 200203, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia. [Downloadable!]
  20. Camille Logeay & Sven Schreiber, 2003. "Effekte einer Arbeitszeitverkürzung: empirische Evidenz für Frankreich," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 362, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  21. Yu-Fu Chen & Michael Funke, 2002. "Working Time and Employment under Uncertainty," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  22. Felix FitzRoy & Michael Funke & Michael A. Nolan, 2001. "Taxation, Unemployment and Working Time in Models of Economic Growth," Discussion Paper Series, Department of Economics 0112, Department of Economics, University of St. Andrews. [Downloadable!]
  23. Nordström Skans, Oskar, 2001. "The effects of working time reductions on wages, actual hours and equilibrium unemployment," Working Paper Series 2001:8, IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Over five million full texts a year are downloaded through IDEAS.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-25.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.