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Keeping in Touch – A Benefit of Public Holidays

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Author Info
Merz, Joachim
Osberg, Lars

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Abstract

This paper argues that public holidays facilitate the co-ordination of leisure time but do not constrain the annual amount of leisure. Public holidays therefore have benefits both in the utility of leisure on holidays and (by enabling people to maintain social contacts more easily) in increasing the utility of leisure on normal weekdays and weekends. The paper uses the variation (13 to 17) in public holidays across German Länder and the German Time Use Survey of 2001-02 to show that public holidays have beneficial impacts on social life on normal weekdays and weekends. Since these benefits are additional to the other benefits of holidays, it suggests that there is a case to be made for more public holidays.

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File URL: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/5738/
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 5738.

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Date of creation: Apr 2006
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Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:5738

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Related research
Keywords: public holidays social contacts social leisure time time allocation time use diaries

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2002. "Timing, togetherness and time windfalls," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 601-623. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Hallberg, Daniel, 2003. "Synchronous leisure, jointness and household labor supply," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 185-203, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Weiss, Yoram, 1996. "Synchronization of Work Schedules," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(1), pages 157-79, February.
  4. Knack, Stephen & Keefer, Philip, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-88, November.
  5. Corneo, Giacomo, 2005. "Work and television," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 99-113, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Lars Osberg, 2003. "Understanding Growth and Inequality Trends: The Role of Labour Supply in the US and Germany," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 29(s1), pages 163-184, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Jacobsen, Joyce P. & Kooreman, Peter, 2005. "Timing constraints and the allocation of time: The effects of changing shopping hours regulations in The Netherlands," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 9-27, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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