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The Heterogeneous Impact of Short-Time Work: From Saved Jobs to Windfall Effects

Author

Listed:
  • Cahuc, Pierre

    (Sciences Po, Paris)

  • Kramarz, Francis

    (CREST (ENSAE))

  • Nevoux, Sandra

    (CREST (ENSAE))

Abstract

To understand which firms take-up short-time work and which workers they enroll in this program, we provide a model which shows that short-time work may save jobs in firms hit by strong negative revenue shocks, but not in less severely-hit firms, where hours worked are reduced, without saving jobs. Using detailed data on the administration of the program covering the universe of French establishments in the 2008-2009 Great Recession, we find that short-time work did indeed save jobs and increase hours of work in firms faced with large negative shocks. These firms have been able to recover rapidly in the aftermath of the Recession thanks to short-time work. We also provide evidence of large windfall effects which significantly increased the cost of the policy per job saved; yet we also find that short-time work remains more cost-efficient at saving jobs than wage subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Cahuc, Pierre & Kramarz, Francis & Nevoux, Sandra, 2021. "The Heterogeneous Impact of Short-Time Work: From Saved Jobs to Windfall Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 14381, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14381
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

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    2. 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 1-11.
    3. Tito Boeri & Pierre Cahuc, 2022. "Labor Market Insurance Policies in the XXI Century," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03878719, HAL.
    4. Victoria Osuna & José Ignacio García Pérez, 2021. "Temporary layoffs, short-time work and COVID-19: the case of a dual labour market," Applied Economic Analysis, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(90), pages 248-262, December.
    5. Dolado, Juan J & Díaz, Antonia & Jañez, Alvaro & Wellschmied, Felix, 2023. "Labour Market Reallocation Effects of COVID-19 Policies in Spain: A Tale of two Recessions," CEPR Discussion Papers 18135, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Garcia-Clemente, Javier & Congregado, Emilio, 2022. "Effects of Short-time Work Schemes on firm survival during the Covid-19 crisis: insights from new Spanish data," MPRA Paper 113885, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Giulia Giupponi & Camille Landais & Alice Lapeyre, 2022. "Should We Insure Workers or Jobs during Recessions?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 29-54, Spring.
    8. Peltonen, Juho, 2023. "Short-time work in search and matching models: Evidence from Germany during the Covid-19 crisis," MPRA Paper 119238, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Peltonen, Juho, 2023. "On the efficiency of labor markets with short-time work policies," MPRA Paper 119165, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Natalia Bermudez & Muriel Dejemeppe & Giulia Tarullo, 2023. "Theory and Empirics of Short-Time Work: A Review," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2023018, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    11. Julien Albertini & Xavier Fairise & Arthur Poirier & Anthony Terriau, 2022. "Short-Time Work Policies During the Covid-19 Pandemic," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 146, pages 123-172.
    12. Porras-Arena, M. Sylvina & Martín-Román, Ángel L. & Dueñas Fernández, Diego & Llorente Heras, Raquel, 2022. "Okun’s Law: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary layoffs procedures (ERTE) on Spanish regions," MPRA Paper 115530, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Wilhelm, Stefan, 2023. "Efficiency of short-time work schemes and the role of monetary policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    14. Nathan Vieira, 2022. "The role of the financial constraint in STW policy success during and after the Great Recession," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2022 13, Stata Users Group.
    15. Konstantins Benkovskis & Olegs Tkacevs & Karlis Vilerts, 2023. "Did Job Retention Schemes Save Jobs during the Covid-19 Pandemic? Firm-level Evidence from Latvia," Working Papers 2023/03, Latvijas Banka.
    16. Julian Teichgräber & Simon Žužek & Jannik Hensel, 2022. "Optimal short-time work: screening for jobs at risk," ECON - Working Papers 402, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    17. J. Garcia-Clemente & N. Rubino & E. Congregado, 2023. "Reemployment premium effect of furlough programs: evaluating Spain’s scheme during the COVID-19 crisis," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-15, December.
    18. Lisa Bellmann & Lutz Bellmann & Arnd Kölling, 2023. "Flexible Use of the Large-Scale Short-Time Work Scheme in Germany during the Pandemic: Dynamic Labour Demand Models Estimation with High-Frequency Establishment Data," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, July.
    19. Meriküll, Jaanika & Paulus, Alari, 2023. "The impact of the Covid-19 job retention support on employment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    20. Biancardi, Daniele & Lucifora, Claudio & Origo, Federica, 2022. "Short-time work and unionization," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    21. Garcia-Clemente, Javier & Rubino, Nicola & Congregado, Emilio, 2022. "Evaluating the effects of short and medium-term temporary work reduction schemes: the case of Spain’s ERTEs during the COVID-19 outbreak," MPRA Paper 114504, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    short-time work; employment; hours of work;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings

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