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Free riding on short‐time work allowances? Results from an experimental survey design

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  • Mario Bossler
  • Christopher Osiander
  • Julia Schmidtke
  • Mark Trappmann

Abstract

Short‐time work (STW) is a policy measure whose prominence increases during economic crises and is intended to stabilize the labor market. Employers can temporarily reduce employees' working hours, which are in turn paid by the social security system in the meantime. Although short‐time work—by design—saves employers a fraction of their wage costs, little is known about free riding behavior when using this option. Accordingly, we analyze the employee‐reported free riding experience with respect to longer actual working hours than accounted for in employees' short‐time work allowances, the unchanged workloads experienced by these employees, and announced lay‐off decisions. Since these questions are certainly sensitive, we employ the crosswise model, a privacy‐preserving technique, in a random half of the sample. Our results show significant employee‐reported prevalences across all dimensions and a significant association between free riding and workers' job dissatisfaction. These findings thus highlight the importance of the crosswise model in uncovering these findings and demonstrate a specific drawback in the application of short‐time work.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario Bossler & Christopher Osiander & Julia Schmidtke & Mark Trappmann, 2023. "Free riding on short‐time work allowances? Results from an experimental survey design," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(4), pages 882-901, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:76:y:2023:i:4:p:882-901
    DOI: 10.1111/kykl.12354
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ivar Krumpal, 2013. "Determinants of social desirability bias in sensitive surveys: a literature review," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 2025-2047, June.
    2. Tito Boeri & Herbert Bruecker, 2011. "Short-time work benefits revisited: some lessons from the Great Recession [‘Reversed roles? Wage and employment effects of the current crisis’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(68), pages 697-765.
    3. Jun-Wu Yu & Guo-Liang Tian & Man-Lai Tang, 2008. "Two new models for survey sampling with sensitive characteristic: design and analysis," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 251-263, April.
    4. Korndörfer, Martin & Krumpal, Ivar & Schmukle, Stefan C., 2014. "Measuring and explaining tax evasion: Improving self-reports using the crosswise model," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 18-32.
    5. Herzog-Stein, Alexander & Nüß, Patrick & Peede, Lennert & Stein, Ulrike, 2022. "Germany and the United States in coronavirus distress: internal versus external labour market flexibility," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 56, pages 1-011.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cahuc, Pierre, 2024. "The micro and macro economics of short-time work," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    2. Gesine Stephan & Matthias Dütsch & Christopher Osiander, 2023. "Short-time allowances in times of crisis: a survey experiment," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-19, December.

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