Do Constraints On Market Work Hours Change Home Production Efforts?

This paper studies variations in housework time and leisure consumption when workers are subject to labor market work hours constraints that prevent them from working the optimal number of hours. Using data from two large nationwide longitudinal surveys, the author first documents that such constraints are widespread about 50 percent of all households in the sample had been bound by such constraints in at least one year, highlighting the significance of studying household behaviors in labor markets under binding constraints. The analysis reveals strong heterogeneity and asymmetry in workers' reactions to this type of market constraint that are difficult to reconcile with standard preferences and home production technology.