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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Asymmetric Information on Workers' Productivity as a Cause for Inefficient Long Working Hours
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Alexandre Ziegler
  • Alfonso Sousa-Poza
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Labour Economics
Publisher Elsevier
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 0927-5371
Volume 10
Number 6
Page Range 727 - 747
Date 2003
Abstract Text In this paper, a model of labor contracting with asymmetric information is developed in order to explain the existence of inefficient long working hours. Since firms cannot observe workers' true productivity, they use long working hours as a mechanism to sort productive workers. The model therefore predicts that workers with a high productivity will tend to work inefficient long hours. An empirical analysis confirms this prediction: high-productivity workers are more likely to experience hours constraints in the form of overemployment than low-productivity workers. Moreover, the extent of overemployment is positively related to productivity.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1016/S0927-5371(03)00016-2
Other Identification Number merlin-id:12164
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