Working hours in Chinese enterprises: evidence from matched employer–employee data

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the factors that are correlated with hours worked in China. A distinguishing feature of the study is that we used representative‐matched employer and employee data. Hence, in addition to the usual worker characteristics examined in conventional economic models of labour supply, we also took into account the influence of firm characteristics and policies on the number of hours worked. The results suggested that in addition to the hourly wage rate, labour supply characteristics and human capital characteristics of the individual, firm‐level differences are important in explaining variation in weekly hours worked in Chinese firms. In particular, our results suggested that there is a norm of longer working hours in firms that employ a high proportion of female and migrant workers, that hours worked are less in firms which pay overtime and that hours worked are less in firms in which labour disputes have disrupted production. The policy implications of Chinese firms reducing hours worked were discussed.

The impact of China’s new Labour Contract Law on socioeconomic outcomes for migrant and urban workers

“…The signs on the coefficients of most of the other variables are consistent with previous studies of the determinants of labour supply in China (see eg. Li & Zax, 2003;Mishra & Smyth, 2013;Smyth, Qian, Nielsen & Kaempfer, 2013). Of note, the coefficient on monthly wages is negative and statistically significant for migrant workers, which suggests the existence of a backward bending labour supply curve.…”

Gender, Low-Paid Status, and Time Poverty in Urban China

“…The incidence of overtime work is prevalent, especially in the manufacturing and commercial service sectors (Verité 2004(Verité , 2012Ye, Gindling, and Li 2015). Using an employer-employee matched dataset in Shanghai, Vinod Mishra and Russell Smyth (2013) found that employees worked longer hours in firms that employed a high proportion of women and migrant workers. They also found that workers who received lower pay worked longer hours.…”

Long work hours and health in China

“…Of particular interest to our study is the research on work hours and health in Japan and South Korea, both of which have long work weeks like China (Mishra & Smyth, 2013).…”

“…China's long weekly work hours, among the longest in the world, have given rise to substantial concerns about the negative effects such a work week may have on workers' health (Mishra & Smyth, 2013). In a recent survey of Chinese workers, for example, respondents pointed to long work hours as one of three major reasons for health problems (Tang, 2013).…”