Play Hard, Shirk Hard? The Effect of Bar Hours Regulation on Worker Absence

• Autores: Colin P. Green, Navarro Paniagua
• Localización: Oxford bulletin of economics and statistics, ISSN 0305-9049, Vol. 78, Nº. 2, 2016, págs. 248-264
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The regulation of alcohol availability has the potential to influence worker productivity. This paper uses legislative changes in bar opening hours to provide a potential quasi-natural experiment of the effect of alcohol availability on working effort, focusing on worker absenteeism. We examine two recent policy changes, one in England/Wales and one in Spain that increased and decreased opening hours respectively. We demonstrate a robust positive causal link between opening hours and absenteeism, although short-lived for Spain. The effect is long lasting for the UK where we provide evidence which suggests that increased alcohol consumption is a key mechanism.