More Part-Time Work as a Cure for Unemployment? Results of an International Comparison.

The feasibility of policies encouraging more part-time employment as a cure for unemployment in Germany was examined through a comparison of the employment policies and labor markets of selected Organization for Economic Development (OECD) countries and the United States. OECD labor force statistics for the years 1972-1992 were analyzed to determine the following: patterns of part-time employment among men and women; the effect of part-time employment on the labor market; and factors determining the evolution of part-time work (structural changes in various sectors of the economy and gender-specific characteristics and behavioral aspects of employment). On the basis of the international comparison, it was concluded that a considerable potential for part-time work is still lying dormant in Germany. A shift-share analysis established that even anticipated structural shifts toward a service society and the expected increase in labor force participation by females will not, by themselves, drastically expand part-time work. Several policy approaches to promoting part-time work were suggested, including making child care and parental leave more available and offering financial incentives to encourage the creation of more part-time jobs. (A description of the shift-share analysis procedure is appended, and the 16 papers published in this series are listed.) (MN)