Re: [Pen-l] Sandwichman's KEYNESIAN stimulus plan

[Sandwichman <lumpoflabor@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 4:56 AM, Laurent GUERBY <laurent@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On this topic, do you know of worthwhile analysis of the switch
> to 35 hours workweek in France around 2000?

It depends what you mean by "worthwhile". There were studies,
including by the government and by independent researchers showing
moderate employment gains (300,000). However, it is impossible to say
whether those gains resulted from the 35-hour week or from a cyclical
expansion.Correlation is not causation. Equally, it is impossible to
say if even more jobs were "preserved" through avoidance of layoffs.
Sometimes "no change" is actually an improvement! Whether or not one
attributes those job gains to the 35-hour policy depends on what
assumptions you build into your model.

You should be able to find those studies yourself, using Google and a
few restrictive search terms, like "econometric" and "aubry". I will
recommend Anders Hayden's article in Politics and Society, "France's
35-Hour Week: Attack on Business? Win-Win Reform? Or Betrayal of
Disadvantaged Workers?" (Vol. 34, No. 4, 503-542 (2006)) because
Anders is my friend and knows his shorter work time stuff. The
operative phrase is "qualified success."

http://intl-pas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/4/503

Here's the abstract:

"France's 35-hour workweek is one of the boldest progressive reforms
in recent years. Drawing on existing survey and economic data,
supplemented by interviews with French informants, this article
examines the 35-hour week's evolution and impacts. Although commonly
dismissed as economically uncompetitive, the policy package succeeded
in avoiding significant labor-cost increases for business. Most
35-hour employees cite quality-of-life improvements despite the fact
that wage moderation, greater variability in schedules, and
intensification of work negatively impacted some—mostly lower-paid and
less-skilled—workers. Taking into account employment gains, the
initiative can be considered a qualified success in meeting its main
aims."

-- 
Sandwichman
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l