Working Papers
Year
2008
Abstract
Over time, increases in hours of work per capita have created the intuitively plausible notion that there
is less time available to pursue social interactions. The specific question addressed in this paper is
the effect of hours of work on social interaction. This is a difficult empirical question since omitted
factors could increase both hours of work and social interaction. The approach taken in this paper
utilizes an exogenous decline in hours of work in France due to a new employment law. The results
clearly show that the employment law reduced hours of work but there is no evidence that the extra
hours went to increased social interactions. Although hours of work are not an important determinant
of social interaction, human capital is found to be important. The effect of human capital, as measured
by education and age, is positive for membership groups but negative for visiting relatives and friends.
Also, contrary to expectations, there are no important differences in the determinants of social interaction
by gender, marital status or parent status. Finally, a comparison between France and the US show
that the response to human capital and other variables are much the same in both nations.
SAFFER, H. et LAMIRAUD, K. (2008). The Effect of Hours of Work on Social Interaction.