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Abstract
This study advances sociological research on the environmental impacts of working hours. Proponents of economic degrowth propose that a reduction in working time slows economic growth, which yields both social and environmental benefits. Building on such arguments, the authors conduct longitudinal analyses of the effects of average annual working hours on total energy consumption for samples of both developed and developing nations, and assess the extent to which the effect of working hours on energy consumption changes through time. The results suggest that the effect of working hours on energy consumption has increased through time, and this trend is observed for the samples of both developed and developing nations. The authors conclude by discussing the theoretical and policy implications of the findings.
Notes
1. The EKC is based on the Kuznets curve hypothesis developed by the economist Simon Kuznets (Citation1955), which postulated on inverted U-shaped curve regarding the relationship between income inequality and economic development.
2. It is important to note that when using longitudinal regression techniques we are better able to make causal arguments relative to cross-sectional models. Whereas cross-sectional analyses only allow researchers to view relationships at one time point, thus making assertions of causality difficult, longitudinal analyses allow researchers to assess how changes through time in independent variables lead to changes through time in the dependent variable. Beyond this, our theoretical formulation suggests that the relationship being analyzed here, working hours and energy consumption, is a causal one.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jared B. Fitzgerald
Jared Fitzgerald is a PhD student in sociology at Boston College. His primary research interest is the political economy of global environmental change.
Andrew K. Jorgenson
Andrew K. Jorgenson is Professor of sociology and environmental studies at Boston College. His primary research area is the political economy and human ecology of global environmental change.
Brett Clark
Brett Clark is Associate Professor of sociology and sustainability studies at the University of Utah. His research focuses on the political economy of global environmental change and the philosophy, history, and sociology of science.