Non-Work at Work, Unemployment and Labor Productivity

Michael Burda, Daniel S. Hamermesh and Katie R. Genadek

No 12087, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We use the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) 2003-2012 to estimate time spent in non-work on the job. Non-work is substantial and varies positively with local unemployment. Time spent in non-work conditional on any positive amount rises, while the fraction of workers reporting positive values declines with unemployment. Both effects are economically important, and are consistent with a model in which heterogeneous workers are paid efficiency wages. That model correctly predicts the relationship between the incidence of non-work and unemployment benefits in state data linked to the ATUS, and is consistent with estimated occupational differences in non-work incidence and intensity, as well as the cyclical behavior of aggregate labor productivity.

Keywords: Time use; Non-work; Efficiency wages; Labor productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-hrm, nep-lma, nep-ltv and nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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