Is Variation in Hours of Work Driven by Supply or Demand? Evidence from Finnish Manufacturing Industries

This paper uses panel data from 1989 to 1995 on blue-collar workers in Finnish manufacturing industries and their establishments to assess the extent to which hours of work are affected by individual or establishment characteristics - observed as well as unobserved. We argue that recent research on working hours has focused almost exclusively on the supply of labor, but that insights into the extent to which hours variation is driven not by supply but by demand will affect the likelihood that supply-side policies will succeed. Our estimates suggest that both individual and establishment characteristics matter, but that establishment level effects account for the bulk of the variation in hours.