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Part-Time Jobs: What Women Want?

Author

Listed:
  • Booth, Alison L.

    (Australian National University)

  • van Ours, Jan C.

    (Erasmus School of Economics)

Abstract

Part-time jobs are popular among partnered women in many countries. In the Netherlands the majority of partnered working women have a part-time job. Our paper investigates, from a supply-side perspective, if the current situation of abundant part-time work in the Netherlands is likely to be a transitional phase that will culminate in many women working full-time. We analyze the relationship between part-time work and life satisfaction, and between job satisfaction and preferred working hours using panel data on life and job satisfaction for a sample of partnered women and men. We also utilize time-use data to consider the distribution within the household of market work and housework, and discuss the work specialization hypothesis in this context. Our main results indicate that partnered women in part-time work have high levels of job satisfaction, a low desire to change their working hours, and live in partnerships in which household production is highly gendered. Taken together, our results suggest that part-time jobs are what most Dutch women want.

Suggested Citation

  • Booth, Alison L. & van Ours, Jan C., 2010. "Part-Time Jobs: What Women Want?," IZA Discussion Papers 4686, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4686
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sara Connolly & Mary Gregory, 2008. "Moving Down: Women's Part‐Time Work and Occupational Change in Britain 1991–2001," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(526), pages 52-76, February.
    2. Alison L. Booth & Jan C. Van Ours, 2008. "Job Satisfaction and Family Happiness: The Part‐Time Work Puzzle," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(526), pages 77-99, February.
    3. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    satisfaction; part-time work; working hours; happiness; gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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