Working time and unemployment - from weakness in sales to economics crisis

Více o knize

Unemployment is closely linked to working time, yet existing explanations often overlook the amount of work desired by both suppliers and demanders. This study explores the relationship between unemployment rates and working hours, analyzing economic data from the USA, Japan, and Germany since 1850. It finds that optimal working time decreases with rising wage rates, non-work income, or deteriorating working conditions, leading to a discrepancy where actual working hours exceed employee preferences but fall short of company needs. This gap contributes to rising unemployment rates. If working hours are not adjusted in response to increased labor productivity, unemployment may escalate, potentially causing stagnation or decline in national income. Excessive savings can hinder profitable investments in new goods, resulting in a slowdown of economic activity. The study discusses solutions, emphasizing the need to reduce savings or redirect them into real goods. It compares the 2007 economic crisis to the 1929 crisis and later recessions, noting that today’s higher debt levels amplify potential crises. Current responses in industrialized nations, primarily government loans to the financial sector, fail to address the underlying sales crisis. A more effective approach involves taxing high incomes and speculative assets to redistribute surplus savings through state investment or consumption, alongside reducing working hours per emplo