The Changing (Dis-)Utility of WorkGreg Kaplan, Sam Schulhofer-Wohl
NBER Working Paper No. 24738 We study how changes in the distribution of occupations have affected the aggregate non-pecuniary costs and benefits of working. The physical toll of work is smaller now than in 1950, with workers shifting away from occupations in which people report experiencing tiredness and pain. The emotional consequences of the changing occupation distribution vary substantially across demographic groups. Work has become happier and more meaningful for women, but more stressful and less meaningful for men. These changes appear to be concentrated at lower education levels.
Acknowledgments and Disclosures Machine-readable bibliographic record - MARC, RIS, BibTeX Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w24738 Published: Greg Kaplan & Sam Schulhofer-Wohl, 2018. "The Changing (Dis-)Utility of Work," Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol 32(3), pages 239-258. citation courtesy of |

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