Does downsizing take a toll on retained staff? An analysis of increased working hours in the early 2000s in Japan

Using several kinds of micro data from household, employee, and retrospective surveys, this study examines the increase in the working hours of regular male employees in Japan during the serious recession of the early 2000s. The most important finding of this study is that working hours tended to be long among regular male employees in firms with major employee adjustments. The results suggest that the existence of abundant fixed duties necessary to maintain the internal organization of a firm primarily account for the increase in working hours of male employees during the recession.