The rise of part-time work: a German-French comparison

I study possible determinants of part-time employment among women in France and Germany using microdata of the Labour Force Survey. Voluntary part-time work is substantially more widespread among women in Germany than it is in France. Estimation results show that while the presence of children and marital status are related to the choice to work part time in both countries, their impact is substantially greater in Germany. Controlling for several factors, the probability of working part time in Germany exceeds that in France among married women and among women with children, while there is hardly any difference among single women and women without children living in the same household. Further results suggest that, besides financial incentives, social norms and cultural legacy play a role in choosing to work part time.