On the studies of the regular character, factors, effects and perspectives of the working time dynamics in modern economy

Research Article
Acknowledgments
The article was prepared with the financial support of RFBR, grant No. 19-110-5044
How to Cite
Zolotov A.V. On the studies of the regular character, factors, effects and perspectives of the working time dynamics in modern economy. Population. 2020. Vol. 23. No. 3. P. 155-168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2020.23.3.14 (in Russ.).

Abstract

The article examines a significant array of the scientific works devoted to different aspects of the working time dynamics. The conclusion is made that the main measure of this dynamics is the average number of hours worked per worker. This indicator can be used for analysis of all periods of labor activity including seniority. It is stated that the research on the problem shows a long-run trend of working time reduction. The works devoted to the topic also consider other factors affecting length of work: increase of labor productivity, influence of income effect and substitution effect on individual labor supply, motivation of employers, role of trade unions and collective bargaining, labor legislation. There are presented approaches to explanation of differences in the dynamics of working time in the USA and in West Europe. It is taken into account that the working time reduction during the past decades is characterized as one of the preconditions of pension reforms. There are considered works that contain analysis of the effects caused by the changes in working time length, including their impact on workers' health, work-life balance, gender inequality, unemployment rate, labor productivity, environment, perception the life as happy. The article shows a significant interest of researchers to perspectives of the working time dynamics in the context of analysis of J. M. Keynes's prediction about switch to 3-hour shifts by 2030. It is stated that the problem of perspectives of the working time dynamics is becoming one of the key issues in discussing the concept of Universal Basic Income. The article notes the attention of researchers to experiments on the working day reduction to 6 hours.
Keywords:
working time, labor productivity, employment, work-life balance

Author Biography

Aleksandr V. Zolotov, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
Dr. Sc. (Econ.), Professor, Head of Chair

References

1. Patrushev V. D. Ispol'zovaniye sovokupnogo vremeni obshchestva. [The Use of the Total Time of Society]. Moscow. Mysl' [Thought]. 1978. 216 p. (in Russ.)

2. Strumilin S. G. Problemy ekonomiki truda [Issues of Labor Economics]. Moscow. Nauka [Science]. 1982. 472 p. (in Russ.)

3. Savran S., Tonak E. A. Productive and Unproductive Labour: An Attempt at Clarification and Classification. Capital & Class. 1999. Vol. 23(2). P. 113-152.

4. Lee S., McCann D., Messenger J. C. Working Time Around the World: Trends in Working Hours, Laws and Policies in a Global Comparative Perspective. Routledge. Geneva: International Labour Organization. 2007. 220 P. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@publ/documents/publication/wcms_104895.pdf (Accessed: 10 March 2020).

5. Huberman M., Minns C. The times they are not changin': Days and hours of work in Old and New Worlds, 1870-2000. Explorations in Economic History. 2007. Vol. 44. P. 538-567.

6. Marchand O. An international comparison of working times. Futures. 1993. Vol. 25. Iss. 5. June. P. 502-510.

7. Prescott E. C., Rogerson R., Wallenius J. Lifetime aggregate labor supply with endogenous workweek length. Review of Economic Dynamics. 2009. Vol. 12. P. 23-36.

8. De Spiegelaere S., Piasna A. The why and how of working time reduction. European Trade Union Institute. 2017. 88 p. Available at: https://www.etui.org/Publications2/Guides/The-why-and-how-of-working-time-reduction (Accessed: 20 March 2020).

9. Costa D. L. The Wage and the Length of the Work Day: From the 1890s to 1991. Journal of Labor Economics. 2000. Vol.18. No 1. P. 156-181.

10. Keynes J. M. Ekonomicheskiye vozmozhnosti dlya nashih vnukov [Economic possibilities for our grandchildren]. Voprosy ekonomiki [Issues of Economics]. 2009. No 6. P. 60-65. (in Russ.)

11. Leont'ev V. Ekonomicheskie esse. Teorii, issledovaniya, fakty i politika [Essays in economics: theories, studies, facts, and policies]. Moscow. Izd-vo politicheskoj literatury[Publishing House of Political Literature]. 1990. 415 p. (in Russ.)

12. Floud R., Fogel R. W., Harris B., Sok Chul Hong. The Changing Body: Health, Nutrition, and Human Development in the Western World since 1700. NBER. Cambridge University Press. 2011. 431 p.

13. Bosh G., Lehndorff S. Working time reduction and employment: experiences in Europe and economic policy recommendations. Cambridge Journal of Economics. 2001. Vol. 25. P. 209-243.

14. Bell L. A., Freeman R. B. The incentive for working hard: explaining hours worked differences in the US and Germany. Labour Economics. 2001. Vol. 8. P. 181-202.

15. Borjas G. J. Labor Economics. Seventh Edition. McGraw-Hill Education. 2016. 569 p.

16. Leijonhufvud A. Spreading the Bread Thin on the Butter. In Pecci L., Piga G. (eds.), Revisiting Keynes: Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2008. P. 117-124.

17. Sallaz J. J. Labor, Economy, and Society. Polity Press. Cambridge. 2013. 199 p.

18. Snir R., Harpaz I. Beyond workaholism: Towards a general model of heavy work investment. Human Resource Management Review. 2012. Vol. 22. P. 232-243.

19. SchorJ. B. The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline ofLeisure. New York: Basic Books. 1991. 247 p.

20. Akerstedt T., Kecklund G. The Future of Work Hours — the European View. Industrial Health. 2005 Vol. 43. P. 80-84.

21. Freeman R. B. Why Do We Work More Than Keynes Expected? In Pecci L., Piga G. (eds.), Revisiting Keynes: Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2008. P. 135-142.

22. Alesina A., Glaeser E., Sacerdote B. Work and Leisure in the U.S. and Europe: Why So Different? NBER Working Paper. 2005. No. 11278. 74 p. Available at: https://www.nber.org/papers/w11278.pdf (Accessed: 19 February 2020).

23. Bowman J. R. Capitalism Compared: Welfare, Work, and Business. SAGE.CQ Press. 2014. 376 p.

24. Lehndorff S. It's long way from norms to normality: the35-hour week in France. Industrial and Labor Relations Review. 2014. Vol. 67(3). July. P. 838-863.

25. Prescott E. C. Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans? Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Quarterly Review. 2004. Vol. 28. No 1. July. 13 p.

26. Finnigan R., Hale J. M. Working 9 to 5? Union Membership and Work Hours and Schedules. Social Forces. 2018. Vol. 96(4). June. P. 1541-1568.

27. Lehndorff S., Wagner A., Franz C. Development of Working Time in the EU. European United Left. Pub. T. Handel/Dr. A. Troost. 2010. 145 p.

28. Samson I. Chetyrekhdnevnaya rabochaya nedelya. Frantsuzskij opyt perekhoda na 35-chasovuyu rabochuyu nedelyu. Zakony Obri 1998-2000 [Four-Day Working Week. The French Experience of Transition to 35-Hour Working Week. Aubry Laws 1998-2000]. Moscow. Izdatel'skij dom «Delo» RANHiGS [Publishing House "Delo". RANEPA]. 2020. 182 p. (in Russ.)

29. Mahlberg B., Freund I., Cuaresma J. C., Prskawetz A. Ageing, productivity and wages in Austria. Labour Economics. 2013. Vol. 22. P. 5-15.

30. Gurvich E. T. Razvilki pensionnoj reformy: rossijskij i mezhdunarodnyj opyt. [The junctions of pension reforms: Russian and international experience]. Voprosy ekonomiki. [Issues of Economics].2019. No 9. P. 5-39. (in Russ.) DOI:10.32609/0042-8736-2019-9-5-39

31. Coe N. B., Zamarro G. Retirement effects on health in Europe. Journal of Health Economics. 2011. Vol. 30. P. 77-86.

32. Wise D. A. Facilitating Longer Working Lives: International Evidence On Why And How. Demography. 2010. Vol. 47. P. 131-149.

33. Zolotov A. V. Sokrashcheniye rabochego vremeni i problema povysheniya pensionnogo vozrasta [Reduction of working time and the problem of raising pension age]. Problemy sovremennoj ekonomiki [Problems of Modern Economy]. 2018. No l. P. 33-38. (in Russ.)

34. McGrattan E. R. Changes in the Distribution of Family Hours Worked Since 1950. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Research Department Staff Report 397. 2008. 32 p.

35. Clarke S., Holdsworth L. Flexibility in the Workplace: Implications of Flexible Work Arrangements for Individuals, Teams and Organizations. Research Paper. Ref: 03/17. Published by Acas. 2017. 45 P. Available at: https://archive.acas.org.uk/media/4901/Flexibility-in-the-Workplace-Implications-of-flexible-work-arrangements-for-individuals-teams-and-organisations/pdf/Flexibility-in-the-Workplace.pdf (Accessed: 19 February 2020).

36. Sparks K., Cooper C., Fried Y., Shirom A. The effects of hours of work on health: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. 1997. Vol. 70. P. 391-408.

37. Fischer F. M., Puttonen S., Skene D. J. 21st International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time: The24/7 Society — From chronobiology to practical life. Chronobiology International. 2014. Vol. 31(10). P. 1093-1099.

38. Marucci-Wellman H. R., Tin-Chi Lin, Willetts J. L., Brennan M. J., and Santosh S. K. Differences in Time Use and Activity Patterns When Adding a Second Job: Implications for Health and Safety in the United States. American Journal of Public Health.2014. August. Vol. 104. No. 8. P. 1488-1500.

39. Lombardi D. F., Folkard S., Joanna L., Willetts J. L., Smith G. S. Daily Sleep, Weekly Working Hours, and Risk of Work-Related Injury: US National Health Interview Survey (2004-2008). Chronobiology International. 2010. Vol. 27(5). P. 1013-1030.

40. Lakey G. Viking Economics. How the Scandinavians Got it Right—and How We Can, Too. Brooklyn: Melville House. 2016. 287 p.

41. Mutari E., Figart D. M. Europe at a crossroads: harmonization, liberalization, and the gender of work time. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society. 2001. Vol. 8(1). P. 36-64.

42. Zbyszewska A. The European Union Working Time Directive: Securing minimum standards with gendered consequences. Women's Studies International Forum. 2013. Vol. 39. P. 30-41.

43. Askenazy P. A Primer on the 35-Hour in France, 1997-2007. IZA. Discussion Paper. No. 3402. 2008. March. 28 p.

44. Kapelyushnikov R., Kuznetsov A., Kuznetsova O. The role of the informal sector, flexible working time and pay in the Russian labour market model. Post-Communist Economies. 2012. Vol. 24. No. 2. P. 177-190.

45. Herzog-Stein A., Zapf I. The navigating the great recession: the impact of working-time accounts in Germany. Industrial and Labor Relations Review. 2014. Vol. 67(3). July. P. 891-925.

46. Sanchez R. Do reductions of standard hours affect employment transitions? Evidence from Chile. Labour Economics. 2013. Vol. 20. P. 24-37.

47. Costa G., Gadbois C., Jansen B., Knauth P., Leonard R., Wedderburn A. Compressed Working Time. Bulletin of European Studies on Time. Edited by A. Wedderburn. 1996. No. 10. 55 p.

48. Fitzgerald J. B., Schor J. B. Jorgenson A. K. Working Hours and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the United States, 2007-2013. Social Forces. 2018. Vol. 96. Iss. 4. June. P. 1851-1874.

49. Clark A. E., Fleche S., Layard R., Powdthavee N., Ward G. The Origin of Happiness. The Science of Well-Being over the Life Course. Princeton University Press. 2018. 325 p.

50. Pecchi L., Piga G. Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren: A Twenty-first Century Perspective. In Pecci L., Piga G. (eds.), Revisiting Keynes: Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2008. P. 1-16.

51. Stiglitz J. E. Toward a General Theory of Consumerism: Reflections on Keynes's Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren. In Pecci L., Piga G. (eds.), Revisiting Keynes: Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2008. P. 41-85.

52. Skidelsky R., Skidelsky E. How Much is Enough? Money and the Good Life. Penguin Books. 2012. 243 p.

53. Zolotov A. V., Demicheva T. N., Lyadova E. V., Polushkina I. N. Ob osushchestvlenii prognoza Dzh.M. Kejnsa o perekhode k trekhchasovym smenam v proizvodstve. [Implementing J. M. Keynes's prediction on switch to three-hour shifts in production]. Social'no-trudovye issledovaniya. [Social & Labour Research]. 2020. No 38(1). P. 46-58. (in Russ.) DOI: 10.34022/2658-3712-2020-38-1-46-58

54. Coote A., Franklin J., Simms A. 21hours. Why a shorter working week can help us to flourish in the 21st century. The New Economics Foundation. 2010. 38 p.

55. Skidelsky R. How to achieve shorter working hours. London: PEF. 2019. 60 p. Available at: https://progressiveeconomyforum.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/08/PEF_Skidelsky_How_to_achieve_shorter_working_hours.pdf (Accessed: 18 April 2020).

56. Ford M. The Rise of the Robots. Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment. A Oneworld Book. 2016. 334 p.

57. Bobkov V. N., Dolgushkin N. K., Odintsova E. V. Bezuslovnyj bazovyj dohod: razmyshleniya o vozmozhnom vliyanii na povysheniye urovnya i kachestva zhizni i ustojchivosti obshchestva. [Universal Basic Income: Reflections on the Possible Impact on Improving the Living Standards and Quality of Life and the Sustainability of Society]. Uroven' zhizni naseleniya regionov Rossii [Living Standards of the Population in the Regions of Russia]. 2019. No. 3(213). P. 8-26. (in Russ.) DOI: 10.24411/1999-9836-2019-10069

58. Standing G. Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen. Pelican Books. 2017. 374 p.

59. Specianova J. Labor Supply Elasticity in the Unconditional Basic Income System: Data Sources and Methodological Issues. European Scientific Journal. 2018. February. Vol. 14. No. 4. P. 13-29.

60. Akerstedt T., Olsson B., Ingre M., Holmgren M., Kecklund G. A 6-hour working day — effects on health and well-being. Journal of Human Ergology. Tokyo. 2001. Vol. 30 (1-2). P. 197-202.

61. Hunnicutt B. K. Kellogg's Six-Hour Day: A Capitalist Vision of Liberation through Managed Work Reduction. The Business History Review. 1992. Vol. 66. No. 3. Autumn. P. 475-522.
Article

Received: 30.05.2020

Accepted: 25.09.2020

Citation Formats
Other cite formats:

APA
Zolotov, A. V. (2020). On the studies of the regular character, factors, effects and perspectives of the working time dynamics in modern economy. Population, 23(3), 155-168. https://doi.org/10.19181/population.2020.23.3.14
Section
EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR MARKET ISSUES
JATS XML