Working Paper: NBER ID: w21923
Authors: Michael Burda; Katie R. Genadek; Daniel S. Hamermesh
Abstract: We use the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) 2003-12 to estimate time spent by workers in non-work while on the job. Non-work time is substantial and varies positively with the local unemployment rate. While average time spent by workers in non-work conditional on any positive amount rises with the unemployment rate, the fraction of workers reporting positive values varies pro-cyclically, declining in recessions. These results are consistent with a model in which heterogeneous workers are paid efficiency wages to refrain from loafing on the job. That model correctly predicts relationships of the incidence and conditional amounts of non-work with wage rates and measures of unemployment benefits in state data linked to the ATUS, and it is consistent with estimated occupational differences.
Keywords: Labor Productivity; Unemployment; Time Use Survey; Nonwork Time
JEL Codes: E24; J23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| state unemployment rate (J65) | nonwork time at workplace (J29) |
| state unemployment rate (J65) | conditional mean of nonwork time (J29) |
| state unemployment rate (J65) | probability of any nonwork occurring (J29) |
| state unemployment rate (J65) | amount of nonwork among those who engage in it (J22) |
| demographic factors (education and race) (I24) | incidence and intensity of nonwork time (J29) |