The Effects of the Legal Minimum Working Time on Workers, Firms and the Labor Market

Pauline Carry

No 21267, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of working time regulations on the allocation of workers and hours. I exploit a unique reform introducing a minimum workweek of 24 hours in France in 2014, affecting 15% of jobs. Drawing on administrative data and an event study design, I find a firm-level reduction in total hours worked, showing imperfect substitutability between workers and hours. The effects differ by gender: women working part-time were replaced by men working longer hours. Importantly, workers also reallocate between firms. To quantify the aggregate impact accounting for these effects, I build and estimate a search and matching model with firm and worker heterogeneity. Overall, the minimum workweek reduced employment by 1.4%, largely driven by women, and decreased total hours by 0.5%.

Keywords: Hours of work; Gender inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J08 J23 J41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03
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