EUKN - Netherlands - European Times: public opinion about Europe. Working hours compared and explained.

European Times: public opinion about Europe. Working hours compared and explained.

Introduction

What is the Europeans´ view on ‘Europe’? What similarities and differences exist between European countries and the United States in terms of working hours?

Description

The survey considers two aspects. The first section describes and explains Dutch public opinion on Europe. A conclusion here is that the general view on Europe in the Netherlands was still positive at the end of 2004 and beginning of 2005. Only in the months and weeks ahead of the June 1, 2005 referendum did public opinion become more emphatically negative.

The second section places the labour participation and working hours of European and American workers in an international perspective. Differences and similarities between countries are analysed.

Background information

The European Survey 3: European Times. This survey was carried out by the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, and the Social and Cultural Planning Office, SCP, at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The survey was published at the end of October as an appendix to the ‘State of the European Union 2006’.

Conclusions

An important but familiar conclusion is that the number of hours worked in the EU, and particularly in the Netherlands, is relatively low. American employees work more, and also want to work more hours than their European colleagues. In Europe it is the Dutch who work the least, with an average of 1,338 hours per year. This is around 250 hours less than the average in the EU-15. The most important reason for this is the large number of Dutch working part-time or half-time. Workers in the US put in some 200 hours more than in the EU-15: on average they work 1,817 hours a year.
The authorities can influence the working week through arrangements combining labour and care. The scope of these provisions varies widely between countries. In general the Scandinavian countries have the most extensive provisions for leave and child-care in Europe, where these are somewhat meagre in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the regulations in these latter countries are still more generous than in the United States.
Labour market institutions can also influence the number of hours worked. Thus the number of hours worked is specifically lower in countries with high taxes. Alongside this, generous benefit payments and liberal arrangements for parenting leave have a heavy effect on the number of hours worked.
Labour market institutions are in fact only responsible for a limited part of the differences in hours worked. Other factors also exercise an influence, such as preferences about spending time.
Lowering taxes and curtailing benefits can lead to an increase in the number of hours worked. Curtailing arrangements for parenting leave could also have this effect, but at the cost of labour participation in the number of persons.

Contact info

CPB - Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis
Phone: +31 70 3383380
info@cpb.nl

Publication date

04/11/2005

Project finished

Links

CPB SCP

European Times (PDF, Eng, 830 KB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration

Keywords

Community development