The Politics of Time: The Revolution of Working Time Regulations in 21 OECD Countries from 1900 to 2010

Why did some countries start regulating working hours before others? Why are employees in some countries limited to 48 work before employers must pay overtime and 40 in others? Why is the extent of paid annual leave greater in some countries and others?  In order to answer these questions I introduce the first extensive dataset on working time policies, covering 23 OECD states from 1900 to 2010. This dataset encompasses information on regulation on length of the workday or week, allowed overtime, remuneration for said overtime, and the length of annual paid leave. Together these factors capture the boundary between work and leisure, and the quality of leisure. The data reveal a general move towards more leisure, with a nearly all countries experiencing a steady decrease in the normal work week, overtime, and increases in annual paid leave. Using panel data analysis, economic growth turns out to have strong, robust effect on all forms of working-time regulation except overtime remuneration. I also find strong support for the trade union hypothesis, with trade unions having a strong and substantial effect on the introduction of a first law, reductions in the normal work week, and a weaker and less robust effect on increases in overtime remuneration. For paid holidays, unions have no significant effect, with left parties having a positive, significant effect. There is also evidence of actual worked hours shaping legislation through a cross-class alliance between employer and employees wishing to establish a common playing field for all firms.