Does downsizing take a toll on retained staff? An analysis of increased working hours during recessions using Japanese micro data

Using official household micro data from the Labour Force Survey, this paper examines the increase in the working hours of regular male employees in Japan under recession from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. The most important findings of this paper are that working hours tended to be longer among male regular employees of firms in which (1) there was major employment adjustment, (2) substantial increase in proportion of non-regular workers, and (3) wide variance in regular wages. The results suggest that the existence of a large amount of fixed duties that are necessary to maintain internal organization and transition from the traditional employment system are the main factors that explain the increase in the working hours during the recession in Japan.