Timing, Fragmentation of Work and Income Inequality - An Earnings Treatment Effects Approach

Joachim Merz, Paul Böhm and Derik Burgert

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Traditional welfare analyses based on money income needs to be broadened by its time dimension. In the course of time the traditional full-time work is diminishing and new labour arrangements are discussed (keyword: flexible labour markets). Our study is contributing to economic well-being by adding insights into particular work effort characteristics - the daily timing of work and its fragmentation - and its resulting income distribution. With our focus on ‘who is working when within a day with which earnings consequences’ we go beyond traditional labour market analyses with its working time division into aggregated full and part time work, working hours spread across a week and weekend, life time working etc. Whereas the first part of our study is describing the distribution of timing and fragmentation of daily work time and its resulting income based on more than 35.000 diaries of the recent German Time Budget Survey 2001/2002, the second part of our study quantifies determinants of arrangement specific earnings functions detecting significant explanatory pattern of what is behind. The economic theory behind is a human capital approach in a market and non-market context, extended by non-market time use, the partner’s working condition, social networking as well as household and regional characteristics. The econometrics use a treatment effects type interdependent estimation of endogenous participation (selection) in a daily working hour pattern (self-selection)and pattern specific earnings function explanation. The overall result: Individual earnings in Germany are dependent on and significant different with regard to the daily working hour arrangement capturing timing and fragmentation of work time. Market and non-market factors are important and significant in explaining earnings.

Keywords: time use and inequality; timing and fragmentation of work time; working hour arrangements; labour supply; earnings explanation; human capital; market and non-market time use; time use diary data; treatment effects modelling; endogenous self-selection; German time budget survey 2001/2002 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J22 J23 J24 J30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Working Paper: Timing, Fragmentation of Work and Income Inequality - An Earnings Treatment Effects Approach (2005)
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