IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/faulre/91.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The employment effect of deregulating shopping hours: Evidence from German retailing

Author

Listed:
  • Bossler, Mario
  • Oberfichtner, Michael

Abstract

We provide difference-in-differences evidence from Germany on the effect of deregulating weekday shop opening hours on employment in food retailing. Using data on the universe of German shops, we find that relaxing restrictions on business hours increased employment by 0.4 workers per shop corresponding to an aggregate employment effect of 3 to 4 per cent. The effect was driven by an increase in parttime employment while full-time employment was not affected. The statistical significance of these results hinges on assumptions on error correlation, and we hence report inference robust to clustering at different levels. A back-of-the-envelope calculation gives an employment increase by 0.1 workers per additional actual weekly opening hour.

Suggested Citation

  • Bossler, Mario & Oberfichtner, Michael, 2014. "The employment effect of deregulating shopping hours: Evidence from German retailing," Discussion Papers 91, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:faulre:91
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/94197/1/779855558.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2008. "Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 414-427, August.
    2. Tobias Wenzel, 2010. "Liberalization of Opening Hours with Free Entry," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 11, pages 511-526, November.
    3. Anja Spengler, 2008. "European Data Watch: The Establishment History Panel," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 128(3), pages 501-509.
    4. Tobias Wenzel, 2010. "Liberalization of Opening Hours with Free Entry," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 11(4), pages 511-526, November.
    5. Tobias Wenzel, 2011. "Deregulation of Shopping Hours: The Impact on Independent Retailers and Chain Stores," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 113(1), pages 145-166, March.
    6. Tanja Hethey-Maier & Johannes F. Schmieder, 2013. "Does the Use of Worker Flows Improve the Analysis of Establishment Turnover? Evidence from German Administrative Data," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 133(4), pages 477-510.
    7. Hethey, Tanja & Schmieder, Johannes F., 2010. "Using worker flows in the analysis of establishment turnover : evidence from German administrative data," FDZ Methodenreport 201006_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. Skuterud, Mikal, 2005. "The impact of Sunday shopping on employment and hours of work in the retail industry: Evidence from Canada," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(8), pages 1953-1978, November.
    9. Gruhl, Anja & Schmucker, Alexandra & Seth, Stefan, 2012. "The establishment history panel 1975-2010 : handbook version 2.2.1," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201204_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    10. Goos, Maarten, 2004. "Sinking the blues: the impact of shop closing hours on labor and product markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19925, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Wenzel Tobias, 2010. "Liberalization of Opening Hours with Free Entry," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 11(4), pages 511-526, December.
    12. Maarten Goos, 2004. "Sinking the Blues: the Impact of Shop Closing Hours on Labor and Product Markets," CEP Discussion Papers dp0664, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Spengler, Anja, 2008. "The establishment history panel 1975-2005 : handbook version 2.0.0," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 200704_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    14. Raymond Gradus, 1996. "The economic effects of extending shop opening hours," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 64(3), pages 247-263, October.
    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. Paul, Annemarie, 2015. "After work shopping? Employment effects of a deregulation of shop opening hours in the German retail sector," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 329-353.
    2. Eberle, Johanna & Schmucker, Alexandra, 2017. "The establishment History Panel : Redesign and update 2016," FDZ Methodenreport 201703_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    3. Danchev, Svetoslav & Genakos, Christos, 2015. "Evaluating the impact of Sunday trading deregulation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 61156, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Aleksandra Grzesiuk, 2021. "Sunday Trading Ban in Poland: Reflection After Three Years," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 3), pages 233-242.
    5. Charlotte Senftleben-König, "undated". "Product Market Deregulation and Employment Outcomes: Evidence from the German Retail Sector," BDPEMS Working Papers 2014009, Berlin School of Economics.
    6. Andre Jungmittag, 2018. "The Direct and Indirect Effects of Product Market Regulations in the Retail Trade Sector," JRC Research Reports JRC112222, Joint Research Centre.
    7. Simon Søbstad Bensnes & Bjarne Strøm, 2015. "Earning or learning? The impact of relaxing shop opening hours restrictions on youth employment, education and earnings," Working Paper Series 16515, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

    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. Mario Bossler & Michael Oberfichtner, 2017. "The Employment Effect Of Deregulating Shopping Hours: Evidence From German Food Retailing," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(2), pages 757-777, April.
    2. Charlotte Senftleben-König, "undated". "Product Market Deregulation and Employment Outcomes: Evidence from the German Retail Sector," BDPEMS Working Papers 2014009, Berlin School of Economics.
    3. Andre Jungmittag, 2018. "The Direct and Indirect Effects of Product Market Regulations in the Retail Trade Sector," JRC Research Reports JRC112222, Joint Research Centre.
    4. Senftleben-König, Charlotte, 2014. "Product Market Deregulation and Employment Outcomes: Evidence from the German Retail Sector," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100539, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Charlotte Senftleben-König, 2014. "Product Market Deregulation and Employment Outcomes: Evidence from the German Retail Sector," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2014-013, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    6. Paul, Annemarie, 2015. "After work shopping? Employment effects of a deregulation of shop opening hours in the German retail sector," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 329-353.
    7. Niklas Potrafke & Felix Roesel, 2020. "Opening hours of polling stations and voter turnout: Evidence from a natural experiment," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 133-163, January.
    8. Erhao Xie, 2018. "Inference in Games Without Nash Equilibrium: An Application to Restaurants, Competition in Opening Hours," Staff Working Papers 18-60, Bank of Canada.
    9. Daniel Fackler & Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2014. "Lingering illness or sudden death? Pre-exit employment developments in German establishments," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 23(4), pages 1121-1140.
    10. Javier Changoluisa & Michael Fritsch, 2020. "New Business Formation and Incumbents’ Perception of Competitive Pressure," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 56(1), pages 165-197, February.
    11. Svetoslav Danchev & Christos Genakos, 2015. "Evaluating the Impact of Sunday Trading Deregulation," CEP Discussion Papers dp1336, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    12. Yamada, Mai, 2020. "The Regulation Level of Business Hours," MPRA Paper 101392, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Blien, Uwe & Dauth, Wolfgang & Roth, Duncan H.W., 2021. "Occupational routine intensity and the costs of job loss: evidence from mass layoffs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Fackler, Daniel & Müller, Steffen & Stegmaier, Jens, 2017. "Explaining wage losses after job displacement: Employer size and lost firm rents," IWH Discussion Papers 32/2017, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    15. Eberle, Johanna & Schmucker, Alexandra, 2017. "The establishment History Panel : Redesign and update 2016," FDZ Methodenreport 201703_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    16. Daniel Fackler & Claus Schnabel & Alexandra Schmucker, 2016. "Spinoffs in Germany: characteristics, survival, and the role of their parents," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 93-114, January.
    17. repec:iab:iabfme:201703(en is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Michael Fritsch & Sandra Kublina, 2019. "Persistence and change of regional new business formation in the national league table," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 891-917, July.
    19. Daniel Fackler & Claus Schnabel & Alexandra Schmucker, 2016. "Spinoffs in Germany: characteristics, survival, and the role of their parents," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 93-114, January.
    20. Lucia Rizzica & Giacomo Roma & Gabriele Rovigatti, 2020. "The effects of shop opening hours deregulation: evidence from Italy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1281, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    21. Fritsch, Michael & Changoluisa, Javier, 2017. "New business formation and the productivity of manufacturing incumbents: Effects and mechanisms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 237-259.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    shop opening regulations; employment; retail sector; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:zbw:faulre:91. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vierlde.html .

    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.