Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/20885 
Year of Publication: 
1999
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 48
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Sharing the available stock of work more fairly is a popular concern in the public policy debate. One policy proposal is to reduce overtime work in order to allow the employment of more people. This paper suggests that such a concept faces major problems. Using Germany as a case study, it is shown that the group of workers with the highest risks of becoming unemployed, namely the unskilled, also exhibit low levels of overtime work. Those who work overtime, namely the skilled, face excess demand on the labour market. Since skilled and unskilled workers are largely complements in production, a general reduction in overtime will lead to less production and hence also to a decline in the level of unskilled employment. The paper provides empirical support for this line of argument. It is also shown that paid overtime work has lost relative importance over time.
Subjects: 
Hours of work
overtime working
overtime compensation
JEL: 
J33
J23
J22
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
103.95 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.