How Germans use their time [Elektronische Ressource] : essays on the reconciliation of work and social life / Juliane Scheffel. Gutachter: Michael C. Burda ; Daniel S. Hamermesh

Dipl. Vw. Juliane Scheffel

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• Publié par: humboldt-universitat_zu_berlin
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 35
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

How Germans Use Their Time: Essays on the
Reconciliation of Work and Social Life
DISSERTATION
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades
Dr. rer. pol.
im Fach Volkwirtschaftslehre
eingereicht an der
Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
von
Dipl. Vw. Juliane Scheffel
geboren am 08.03.1979 in Halle/Saale
Präsident der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin:
Prof. Dr. Jan-Hendrik Olbertz
Dekan der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät:
Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D.
Gutachter:
1. Prof. Michael C. Burda, Ph.D.
2. Prof. Daniel S. Hamermesh, Ph.D.
eingereicht am: May 24, 2011
Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: August 5, 2011Abstract
This thesis consists of four essays that contribute to the empirical litera-
ture of the allocation of market work. The first essay studies the interrelation
between working schedules and social life of couples by investigating the
synchronization of schedules. A novel approach is proposed that allows for
a determination of the average impact of working conditions of the German
population on the allocation of leisure. From these findings, couple-specific
conclusions concerning the active synchronization of schedules can be drawn.
The second essay is devoted to empirically testing the assumption of compen-
sating wage differentials predicting that work at non-standard hours shall be
compensated by higher wage rates. The results suggest 9–10 percent higher
hourly wage rates. Wage premia are U-shaped across the earnings distribution
for shift workers. Since the focus on monetary compensation of such working
condition neglects potential adverse consequences on the worker’s social life
and individual health, the third essay explores such non-pecuniary aspects.
Such jobs entail significantly higher levels of solitary leisure which is likely to
adversely affect the worker’s well-being by reducing the marginal utility of
leisure. The more severe consequence of work at undesirable hours is the aug-
mented risk to physical and mental health which arises from the significantly
lower allocation of time to sleep. In particular older workers who are poten-
tially exposed to such working conditions over a longer time horizon bear the
highest risks. Finally, the fourth essay studies the causal gain from temporal
work flexibility on parental time with children. Flexitime arrangements allow
mothers to spend 30 percent more of their disposable time on childcare. The
results are generalizable to Germany as a whole. The paper provides empirical
support for the importance of temporal work flexibility on mitigating adverse
effects of maternal employment on the child’s cognitive development.
Keywords:
Labor economics, time use, working conditions, allocation of work, flexibility, social
life, childcare, shift workZusammenfassung
Diese Dissertation besteht aus vier Aufsätzen, die zur empirischen Litera-
tur der Allokation der Arbeitszeit beitragen. Der erste Artikel untersucht die
Wechselbeziehung zwischen Arbeit und Sozialleben von Paaren und unter-
sucht die Synchronisation der Arbeitszeiten. Ein neuer Analyseansatz wird
vorgeschlagen, der es ermöglicht, den durchschnittlichen Einfluss der Arbeits-
bedingungen der deutschen Bevölkerung auf die Allokation der Freizeit zu
bestimmen. Der zweite Aufsatz untersucht, ob Arbeit zu unüblichen Bedin-
gungen gemäß der Theorie kompensierender Lohndifferentiale durch höhere
Löhne entlohnt wird. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass solche Arbeiter 9–10 Prozent
höhere Stundenlöhne erhalten. Diese Zuschläge haben einen u-förmigen Ver-
lauf über die Einkommensverteilung für Schichtarbeiter. Die Ausrichtung der
Analyse auf monetäre Kompensation solcher Arbeitsbedingungen, vernachläs-
sigt mögliche adverse Auswirkungen auf das Sozialleben und die Gesundheit.
Der dritte Artikel untersucht daher nicht-pekuniäre Aspekte. Freizeit wird
in solchen Jobs zu einem höheren Anteil allein verbracht, was sich negativ
auf das Wohlbefinden auswirken kann, da der Grenznutzen der Freizeit sinkt.
Die drastischen Auswirkungen dieser Arbeit zieht ein erhöhtes Risiko auf den
mentalen und physischen Gesundheitszustand mit sich, der sich aus einer
signifikant niedrigeren Schlafallokation ergibt. Besonders betroffen sind ältere
Arbeitnehmer, die eine höhere Wahrscheinlichkeit haben, diesen Arbeitsbedin-
gungen schon über einen längeren Zeitraum ausgesetzt zu sein. Abschließend
untersucht der vierte Aufsatz den kausalen Zugewinn auf die elterliche Zeit
mit Kindern, den Arbeitnehmer durch mehr zeitliche Arbeitsflexibilität errei-
chen. Gleitzeitregelungen erlauben es Müttern somit, etwa 30 Prozent mehr
ihrer verfügbaren Zeit mit ihren Kindern zu verbringen. Zeitliche Flexibili-
tät kann somit die adversen Effekte der Beschäftigung von Müttern auf die
kognitive Entwicklung ihrer Kinder abmildert.
Schlagwörter:
Arbeitsmarktökonomik, Zeitverwendung, Arbeitsbedingungen, Arbeitszeit, Flexibi-
lität, Sozialleben, Kinderbetreuung, SchichtarbeitAcknowledgements
During my doctoral studies and in the course of writing this dissertation, I have
received a lot of comments, support and encouragement from several -colleagues
and friends. I am deeply indebted to all of them.
First of all, I would like to thank Michael C. Burda for his guidance and invaluable
advice as well as for the lively discussions. I am furthermore very grateful for
the chance to spend a research visit at the University of Texas at Austin. I am
also greatly indebted to Daniel S. Hamermesh for reading earlier versions of all
chapters of this dissertation and for his very valuable comments and suggestions.
Both are incredibly inspiring researchers who encouraged and stimulated my
research tremendously. Further thanks go to Alexandra Spitz-Oener. I benefited
enormously from discussing with her. Moreover, I wish to thank all the faculty of
the Berlin Doctoral Program in Economics & Management Science for stimulating
and rigorous classes.
I also owe a debt of gratitude to my colleagues and friends who accompanied
me through my time at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and with whom I had
the great pleasure to work with. This applies in particular to Jan Peter Aus dem
Moore, Lars Boerner, Patrick Bunk, Hanna Denecke, Holger Gerhardt, Atanas
Hristov, Hong Lan, Daniel Neuhoff, Dorothee Schneider, Charlotte Senftleben,
Runli Xie-Uebele and Fang Yao. Maren Brede, Björn Ohl, Verena Proske, Susanne
Schöneberg, Stefanie Seele and Felix Strobel provided excellent research assistance.
A particularly warm thanks goes to Claudia Keidel for doing all the important
work behind the scenes, for always having a sympathetic ear and a smile for me.
Furthermore, I owe special thanks to Sebastian Braun for his encouragement and
inspiration and his collaboration in two earlier projects that did not make it into
this dissertation. Moreover, I want to thank Florian Buck, Alexandra Fedorets and
Battista Severgnini for their fruitful discussions, for their unconditional trust in me
but in particular for being wonderful friends who made this work much easier.
My work furthermore benefited from very helpful comments and valuable
suggestions from participants at the 2009 annual conference of the Verein für Social-
politik and the annual congress of the European Association of Labor Economists, at
the 2010 meeting of the European Economic Association, the European Society for
Population Economics, the RGS Doctoral Conference in Economics and the Spring
Meeting of Young Economists, at the 2011 annual congress of the Royal Economic
Society and the IAB International Workshop ”Increasing Labor Market Flexibility -
Boon or Bane”, the Inter Perspectives on Time Use Conference in Maryland,
the 25th Annual Congress of the European Society for Population Economics in
Hangzhou, China, as well as seminar participants at Humboldt-Universität zu
Berlin, at the University of Texas as Austin and at the Berlin Network of Labor
Market Researchers (BeNA).J. Scheffel viii
All the direct support mentioned so far could not have developed its value
without the mental backing by my friends and family. Above all, my parents Karin
and Hans-Peter Scheffel, my sister Jenny and my grandmother Gerlinde Herrmann
are constant sources of energy through their unconditional trust in me and my
abilities. Special thanks goes also to my magnificent friends Katharina Arseven
and Preeta Drescher, who shared all my ups and downs along the way, who always
supported me and who cheered me up at all times. Finally, a special word of thanks
is reserved for Daniel Weiss for his support, love and trust and for being by my
side at all times. His happiness makes everything so much easier.Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Family Economics: A Political Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Family Empirical Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Outline of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 Literature 17
2.1 Timing of activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1.1 Allocation of Market versus Non-Market Work . . . . . . . . 18
2.1.2 of Household Work versus Leis