The effects of flexible working hours on German couples' wages
Working flexible hours is believed to increase an employee's productivity, which is claimed to result in higher wages. This enhancement of productivity is attributed to a reduction in work-life stress as well as to the employee's ability to work non-core hours. Despite these claims, there is no sufficient quantitative evidence as to whether this effect of flexible hours on wages exists. If interpreted as a lack of commitment, taking up flexible working hours could also be punished with lower wages. The SOEP provides a unique opportunity to test these opposing wage arguments. Moreover, with this household panel, for the first time, one can test whether partners profit from changes in couple-level flexibility. Fixed effects analysis is used to test the opposing arguments. Furthermore, the paper looks at who uses the flexible working hours.