How Bad Is Involuntary Part-time Work?

Daniel Borowczyk-Martins and Etienne Lalé ()

No 9775, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We use a set of empirical and analytical tools to conduct parallel analyses of involuntary part-time work and unemployment in the U.S. labor market. In the empirical analysis, we document that the similar cyclical behavior of involuntary part-time work and unemployment masks major differences in the underlying dynamics. Unlike unemployment, variations in involuntary part-time work are mostly explained by its interaction with full-time employment, and since the Great Recession employed workers are at a greater risk of working part-time involuntarily than being unemployed. In the theoretical analysis, we show that the higher probability of regaining full-time employment is key to distinguish involuntary part-time work from unemployment from a worker's perspective. We also quantify the welfare costs of cyclical fluctuations in involuntary part-time work, and the amplification of these costs arising from the elevated levels of involuntary part-time work observed since the Great Recession.

Keywords: welfare; involuntary part-time work; employment; Great Recession (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E21 E32 J21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2016-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hrm, nep-lma and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Published - published in: Oxford Economic Papers, 2018, 70 (1), 183-205.

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Working Paper: How Bad is Involuntary Part-time Work? (2016)
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