Does Worksharing Work? Some Empirical Evidence from the IAB Panel

Robert Simmons (r.simmons@lancaster.ac.uk), Thorsten Schank and Martyn J. Andrews

No 25, Discussion Papers from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics

Abstract: Recent policy debate in Europe suggests that a shorter workweek will lead to more jobs (worksharing). We derive and estimate a model where the firm employs two types of worker, some working overtime, the rest standard hours. Worksharing is not always a prediction of the theory. Using German establishment-level panel data (the IAB panel), 1993-1999, we find pro-worksharing effects in small plants in the East German non-service sector. There is evidence that a cut in standard hours lowers the proportion of overtime workers in a plant, as predicted by the theory, and increases the proportion of standard-time plants.

Keywords: worksharing; plant-level panel data; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 C24 J23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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