How Do Hours Worked Vary with Income? Cross-Country Evidence and Implications
73 Pages Posted: 20 Jan 2016 Last revised: 9 Apr 2023
There are 2 versions of this paper
How Do Hours Worked Vary with Income? Cross-Country Evidence and Implications
How Do Average Hours Worked Vary with Development? Cross-Country Evidence and Implications
Date Written: January 2016
Abstract
This paper builds a new internationally comparable database of hours worked to measure how hours vary with income across and within countries. We document that average hours worked per adult are substantially higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries. The pattern of decreasing hours with income holds for both men and women, for adults of all ages and education levels, and along both the extensive and intensive margin. Within countries, hours worked per employed are also decreasing in the individual wage for most countries, though in the richest countries, hours worked are flat or increasing in the wage. Our findings imply that aggregate productivity and welfare differences across countries are larger than currently thought.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation