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Does a Mandatory Reduction of Standard Working Hours Improve Employees' Health Status?

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  • Rafael Sánchez

Abstract

Most of the empirical evidence regarding the impact of reductions of standard working hours analyzes its effects on employment outcomes, family life balance and social networks, but there is no empirical evidence of its effects on health outcomes. This study uses panel data for France and Portugal and exploits the exogenous variation of working hours coming from labour regulation and estimate its impact on health outcomes (from 39 to 35 hours a week and from 44 to 40 hours a week respectively). Results suggest that the mandatory reduction of standard working hours decreased the working hours of treated individuals (and not the hours of individuals in the control group). Furthermore, results also suggest that the fact of being treated generated a negative (positive) effect on young males (females)' health in France. No effects on health outcomes were found for Portugal.
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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indres:v:56:y:2017:i:1:p:3-39
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/irel.12163
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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