The Income Effect of Part-time Work:Theoretical Logic and Empirical Evidence
Common prosperity is a core socialist objective,emphasizing shared benefits and widespread wealth.In China's current socialist stage,achieving this requires raising absolute income levels,optimizing income distribution,and reducing disparities.Expanding income channels is a practical way to increase workers'incomes,and with the rise of the gig economy,part-time work has become a popular strategy.However,part-time work has mixed effects on workers.While it often increases total working hours and income by shifting the work-leisure balance toward more work,it reduces leisure time,potentially affecting physical and mental well-being due to reduced rest.Additionally,most part-time jobs in China are low-skill,repetitive roles with limited opportunities for skill development or career advancement,which can re-sult in diminishing experience returns over time.These outcomes raise questions about part-time work's effectiveness in improving income:Does it truly benefit workers?Are there differences between its short-and long-term impacts?Ad-dressing these questions is crucial for both theoretical and practical reasons within the pursuit of common prosperity.This study investigates the income effects of part-time work using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS)(1991-2015).The findings of this paper show that in the short term,part-time work increases total income but lowers hourly wages,suggesting a trade-off between income quantity and quality.Over the long term,part-time work suppresses both total income and hourly wages,indicating that while it may offer short-term relief,it does not support sustainable income growth.These results are consistent after controlling sample selection bias and endogeneity using propensity score match-ing(PSM),treatment effect models,and instrumental variable techniques,confirming the reliability of these conclu-sions.Further analysis reveals that part-time work's income effects are especially significant for non-public sector workers and those with low-to-medium skills.For these groups,part-time work provides an immediate positive impact on total in-come,helping meet financial needs.However,it significantly reduces hourly wages,suggesting that while these workers may achieve short-term gains,they may struggle to sustain long-term growth if relying on part-time work alone.This finding highlights that part-time work's benefits are primarily short-lived,particularly for workers in roles with limited ad-vancement opportunities.Additionally,this study explores mechanisms through which part-time work affects income,identifying three main channels:labor supply,experience returns,and health.Increased labor supply enables short-term gains by extending work hours but limits rest,which may undermine productivity and well-being over the long term.Mini-mal skill development in low-skill part-time jobs leads to diminishing experience returns,as these roles rarely provide op-portunities for skill acquisition or career progression.Lastly,reduced leisure time affects health,which can lower produc-tivity by contributing to burnout and fatigue,further impacting income potential and long-term stability.Based on these findings,this paper proposes several policy recommendations to ensure that part-time work remains a fair and sustainable income source without undermining well-being.Strengthening labor protections,especially in the gig economy,and in-creasing oversight of platform companies are essential to safeguarding fair compensation and workers'rights.Enhanced protections for low-and medium-skilled workers are critical,as these groups are more vulnerable to the downsides of pro-longed part-time work.Labor policies should focus on reducing negative impacts for workers,particularly in a non-public sector and low-skilled roles,supporting a more balanced labor market aligned with common prosperity objectives.Compared to existing literature,this paper offers the following contributions.Firstly,while most studies on labor models focus on informal employment,few examine part-time work as a unique labor relationship,especially regarding its short-and long-term income effects.This study fills a gap,offering a comprehensive view of part-time work's income implications across different time frames.Secondly,it uncovers mechanisms driving differing income effects,including la-bor supply,experience returns,and health outcomes,providing a nuanced understanding of part-time work's complex im-pacts on workers'lives and future earnings.Finally,the policy recommendations emphasize labor protections that miti-gate adverse effects,especially for low-skilled and non-public sector workers,promoting a fairer labor market aligned with common prosperity.
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