essay about time management of working students

The Effects of Working Hours on Health
Status and Health Behaviors
Mar´ In´s Berniell∗ ıa e
CEMFI - UIMP
March, 2012

Abstract
This study measures the effect of the amount of working hours on workers’ health status and health behaviors. To deal with the endogeneity of the number of hours worked I use a quasi-experiment: the change in the legal maximum workweek hours in France enacted in
1998. The estimated effects, while moderate, are all consistent with the idea that less working hours improves health behaviors. In particular, this paper shows that a reduction of working time is associated with a drop in the probability of smoking, in alcohol consumption, and in physical inactivity. I do not find a direct effect of working time on health status measures
(self-assessed health status and an index of vital risk), probably because I only capture shortrun effects. However, since health behaviors directly affect future health outcomes, we should expect a long run effect of the number of hours worked on individual’s health, through these changes on health behaviors.

JEL Classification: C21, I12, J08, J22, J28, J81.
∗

I am especially grateful to Guillermo Caruana and Manuel Bag¨´s for their encouragement and advise. I would ue also like to thank Manuel Arellano, Claudio Michelacci, Laura Crespo, Lian Allub, Lucila Berniell, Dolores de la
Mata, Paul Dourgnon, Romain Fantin and attendants at CEMFI Master Thesis Workshop Sessions for helpful comments and discussions. Finally, I thank IRDES for providing me with the ESPS data. Any calculations, analyses and interpretation based on the supplied data are my sole responsibility.

1

‘’...mutual emulation and desire of greater gain frequently prompted them [workers] to over-work themselves, and to hurt their health by excessive labour‘’.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Adam Smith, 1776.

1

Introduction

There is evidence that work affects health. A quick look

References: Allonier, C., P. Dourgnon, and T. Rochereau (2006): “Sant´, soins et protece tion sociale en 2004,” IRDES report, 1, 2379–90. Arellano, M. (2005): “Empirical Evaluation of Public Policies: The Pursuit of Causality.,” mimeo. Askenazy, P. (2008): “A Primer on the 35-Hour in France, 1997-2007,” IZA DP No Blundell, R., and M. Costa Dias (2007): “Alternative Approaches to Evaluation in Empirical Microeconomics ,” . Boisard, P. (2004): Working time policy in France. Centre d’´tudes de l’emploi. Chemin, M., and E. Wasmer (2009a): “Regional Difference-in-Differences in France Using the German Annexation of Alsace-Moselle in 1870–1918,” . Estevao, M., and F. Sa (2008): “The 35-hour workweek in France: Straightjacket or welfare improvement?,” Economic Policy, 23(55), 417–463. 35-hour workweek?,” IZA DP No. 2459. Gerdtham, U., and C. Ruhm (2006): “Deaths rise in good economic times: evidence from the OECD,” Economics & Human Biology, 4(3), 298–316. Goux, D., E. Maurin, and B. Petrongolo (2010): “Worktime Regulations and Spousal Labour Supply,” . Hamermesh, D. (2002): “Timing, togetherness and time windfalls,” Journal of Population Economics, 15(4), 601–623. Helsinki, F. (2008): “Associations among working conditions and behavioral risk factors: The Helsinki Health Study with International Comparisons,” . Hill, C., and F. Stafford (1980): “Parental care of children: Time diary estimates of quantity, predictability, and variety,” Journal of Human Resources, 15(2), 219– Jackson, P., and P. Warr (2009): “Unemployment and psychological ill-health: The moderating role of duration and age,” Psychological Medicine, 14(03), 605–614. Johansson, E. (2004): “A note on the impact of hours worked on mortality in OECD countries,” The European Journal of Health Economics, 5(4), 335–340. Jusot, F., M. Khlat, T. Rochereau, and C. Serme (2008): “Job loss from poor health, smoking and obesity: a national prospective survey in France,” Journal of Langeland, B. (2009): “Reported health differences between working and nonworking people.,” National Institute of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Health Surveillance. Mandin, C., and B. Palier (2002): “Welfare reform in France, 1985-2002,” Welfare Reform. Maruyama, S., K. Kohno, and K. Morimoto (1995): “A study of preventive medicine in relation to mental health among middle-management employees (Part Mathers, C., and D. Schofield (1998): “The health consequences of unemployment: the evidence,” Medical journal of Australia, 168, 178–185. Maurin, E., and D. Thesmar (2004): “Changes in the Functional Structure of Firms and the Demand for Skill,” Journal of Labor Economics, 22(3). McPherson, A., and W. Hall (1983): “Psychiatric impairment, physical health and work values among unemployed and apprenticed young men,” Australasian Morrell, S., R. Taylor, and C. Kerr (1998): “Unemployment and young people’s health,” Medical Journal of Australia, 168(5), 236–240. Raposo, P., and J. Van Ours (2008): “How working time reduction affects employment and earnings,” IZA Discussion Papers. Ruhm, C. (2000): “Are Recessions Good for Your Health?,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(2), 617–650. (2003): “Good times make you sick,” Journal of Health Economics, 22(4), 637–658. (2005): “Healthy living in hard times,” Journal of Health Economics, 24(2), 341–363. Saffer, H., and K. Lamiraud (2008): The Effect of Hours of Work on Social Interaction