Working-time reduction and employment: experiences in Europe and economic policy recommendations

The paper seeks to evaluate the evidence on the employment effects of the collective working-time reductions in Europe over the past 20 years. While theoretical analyses produce contradictory assessments, most empirical studies show positive employment effects but take insufficient account of these conditions under which the reductions in working time were implemented. These conditions for the success of collective working-time reductions include an active training policy designed to minimise skill shortages in the labour market, the modernisation of work organisation, wage increases in conjunction with productivity gains and a more equal income distribution. Copyright 2001 by Oxford University Press.