Title: Working hours and job sharing in the EU and USA : are Europeans lazy? or Americans crazy? /
Authors: Boeri, Tito; Burda, Michael C.; Kramarz, Francis.; Cahuc, Pierre.; Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti.
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 2008
Subjects: Hours of labor European Union countries.; Hours of labor United States; Labor productivity European Union countries.; Labor productivity United States.; Job sharing European Union countries.; Job sharing United States.
Abstract: "In the last 50 years the gap in labor productivity between Europe and the US has narrowed considerably with estimates in 2005 suggesting a EU-US labor productivity gap of about 5 per cent. Yet, average per capita income in the EU is still about 30% lower than in the US. This persistent gap in income per capita can be almost entirely explained by Europeans working less than Americans." "Why do Europeans work so little compared to Americans? What do they do with their spare time outside work? Can they be induced to work more without reducing labor productivity? If so, how? And what is the effect on well-being if policies are created to reward paid work as opposed to other potentially socially valuable activities, like child-bearing? More broadly, should the state interfere at all when it comes to bargaining over working hours? This volume explores these questions and many more in an attempt to understand the changing nature of the hours worked in the USA and EU, as well as the effects of policies that impose working hour reductions."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents: The distribution of total work in the EU and USA / Michael C. Burda, Daniel S. Hamermesh, and Philippe Weil -- Comments / Alberto Alesina, Christopher Pissarides -- Labor market effects of work-sharing arrangements in Europe / Francis Kramarz, Pierre Cahuc, Bruno Crépon, Oskar Nordström Skans, Thorsten Schank, Gijsbert van Lomwel, and André Zylberberg -- Comments / Giuseppe Nicoletti, Jan van Ours -- Final remarks / Olivier Blanchard, Stephen Nickell, Guido Tabellini.