Can a Shorter Workweek Induce Higher Employment? : Mandatory Reductions in the Workweek and Employment Subsidies /

A reduction in the legal workweek may induce a degree of downward wage flexibility, while an employment subsidy to firms accommodates downward wage rigidity. It may be possible, therefore, to increase employment with a policy that combines a reduction in the workweek with an employment subsidy. In g...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Erbas, S.
Other Authors: Sayers, Chera
Format: Journal
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 1999.
Series:IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 1999/144
Online Access:Full text available on IMF
Description
Summary:A reduction in the legal workweek may induce a degree of downward wage flexibility, while an employment subsidy to firms accommodates downward wage rigidity. It may be possible, therefore, to increase employment with a policy that combines a reduction in the workweek with an employment subsidy. In general, however, the long-run employment outcome is ambiguous, and a decline in output cannot be ruled out. More direct policy measures whose impact can be assessed with greater certainty-in particular, removing structural rigidities in the labor market-should be given priority to decrease long term unemployment.
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Physical Description:1 online resource (33 pages)
Format:Mode of access: Internet
ISSN:1018-5941
Access:Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students