A Century of Weekly Working Time Reductions: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The economic effects of weekly working time reductions (WWTR) have been analysed for decades. Since the theoretical effects of WWTR are often ambiguous, study authors attempted to estimate outcomes empirically. Empirical studies, however, also lack a clear consensus regarding the direction and magnitude of individual effects. Moreover, existing literature reviews usually focus on specific effects and no database presently synthesises the research on the diverse economic effects of reduced weekly working hours in a systematic, integrated manner. In this study, we follow two objectives. We, first, compile a comprehensive database of studies that estimate the economic effects of WWTR based on empirical data. We then analyse parts of the literature, namely the impact on employment, through a meta-regression analysis (MRA). We identify 214 studies that analyse WWTR in 30 countries and four regions over the course of more than a century. Most studies employ quantitative methods, specifically econometric, and mainly estimate the impact of WWTR on employment, total hours worked as well as wages and earnings. Smaller subsets address productivity, output, firm-level indicators, working conditions, capital, effects on partners, health and safety, and prices. The database we built for the MRA contains 39 studies and 1223 estimates. Based on these estimates, we performed two separate MRAs—one concerning aggregate employment changes and another concerning individual probabilities of being employed after a reduction in weekly working time. Across all countries and time periods, the employment effects of WWTR are generally statistically insignificant, and we find no evidence of publication bias. The choice of methodology, as well as the set of control variables and fixed effects incorporated have a statistically significant influence on the results. We further find that positive employment effects are historically just one among many goals of WWTR. Other cited motivations include improvements in health, well-being, working conditions, work-life balance, work-family reconciliation, welfare, productivity, and broader structural economic reforms.

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Kontakt

• Quirin DAMMERER
  E-​Mail: quirin.dammerer@wu.ac.at

• Ludwig LIST
  E-Mail: ludwig.list@fes.de