Examination of the Correlation between Working Time Reduction and Employment
Virginia Tsoukatou

TL;DR
This paper investigates whether reducing working hours can counteract unemployment caused by technological change, concluding that it does not effectively increase employment based on empirical evidence.
Contribution
It provides a comprehensive statistical analysis of existing studies, clarifying that working time reduction is not a viable solution to long-term unemployment.
Findings
Working time reduction does not increase employment
Reducing working hours is ineffective against technological unemployment
Empirical studies show no positive employment effect from shorter working hours
Abstract
In recent years, it has been debated whether a reduction in working hours would be a viable solution to tackle the unemployment caused by technological change. The improvement of existing production technology is gradually being seen to reduce labor demand. Although this debate has been at the forefront for many decades, the high and persistent unemployment encountered in the European Union has renewed interest in implementing this policy in order to increase employment. According to advocates of reducing working hours, this policy will increase the number of workers needed during the production process, increasing employment. However, the contradiction expressed by advocates of working time reduction is that the increase in labor costs will lead to a reduction in business activity and ultimately to a reduction in demand for human resources. In this article, we will attempt to answer…
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Taxonomy
TopicsLabor market dynamics and wage inequality · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
