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The labour market returns to sleep

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  • Costa-Font, Joan
  • Fleche, Sarah
  • Pagan, Ricardo

Abstract

Despite the growing prevalence of insufficient sleep among individuals, we still know little about the labour market return to sleep. To address this gap, we use longitudinal data from Germany and leverage exogenous fluctuations in sleep duration caused by variations in time and local sunset times. Our findings reveal that a one-hour increase in weekly sleep is associated with a 1.6 percentage point rise in employment and a 3.4% increase in weekly earnings. Such effect on earnings stems from productivity improvements given that the number of working hours decreases with longer sleep duration. We also identify a key mechanism driving these effects, namely the enhanced mental well-being experienced by individuals who sleep longer hours.

Suggested Citation

  • Costa-Font, Joan & Fleche, Sarah & Pagan, Ricardo, 2024. "The labour market returns to sleep," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120758, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:120758
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      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2023-05-23 18:18:44

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    Cited by:

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    2. Nguyen, Ha Trong & Zubrick, Stephen R. & Mitrou, Francis, 2024. "The effects of sleep duration on child health and development," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 35-51.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sleep; employment; productivity; mental health; sunset times;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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