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The best sentence I read today
In Germany peak hour traffic on a Friday is 2 pm.
That is from Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi, The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on April 9, 2007 at 05:13 PM in Books | Permalink
Comments
All the more reason to leave at noon.
Posted by: Xanthippas at Apr 9, 2007 5:38:42 PM
Same thing out of NYC on a Friday during the summer.
Posted by: Dave at Apr 9, 2007 6:06:18 PM
That's outrageous. Why aren't they in the pub?
Posted by: dearieme at Apr 9, 2007 6:18:20 PM
Tyler,
Do you recommend the book? I have been thinking about buying it but I am wondering whether it is worth the time.
Thank you!
C.
Posted by: Commenterlein at Apr 9, 2007 6:22:26 PM
Slow sentence day?
Posted by: Alek at Apr 9, 2007 6:25:53 PM
I recommend the book.
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Apr 9, 2007 6:32:42 PM
Sounds like one of these things people like to believe whether they check out or not, like the bogus Swedish suicide rates. The implication seems to be that Germans who are supposed to work until five o'clock on Fridays mischievously take of at two. This isn't accurate.
Peak traffic hours in Germany tend to be mostly around 6-8 in the morning and 4-6 in the afternoon (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkehrszeiten). A large part of traffic, particularly public traffic, in Germany consists of schoolchildren and students travelling to and from school. Schools tend to end earlier on Fridays. Also, people who work less than 40 hours generally take these hours off at the end of the week. But those who work a full working day on Friday don't take off three hours early. If I may say so, the work ethic is very strong.
Here's a thought: consider spare time as just another purchasable commodity, which people in some cultures like to spend money on, and others don't. Isn't it worth earning just a little bit less, to have a life? If it's OK to blow a fortune on a swimming pool you never have time to use or a fancy car that gives you no joy, why is it not OK to spend some of your income on having more time for yourself and your family?
Also, note that working a lot of hours isn't necessarily the same as producing a lot. The people of neighboring Poland work 46% more, and have little to show for their pains.
Posted by: Stefan Johansson at Apr 9, 2007 7:13:24 PM
So, Stefan, is your point that:
1. Most Germans work just as many hours as most Americans; or
2. Most Germans don't work just as many hours as most Americans, but that should not be a cause for American pride, because most Germans would rather have additional leisure than the additional money they'd have if they worked as many hours as Americans do; or
3. Most Germans don't work just as many hours as most Americans, but the hours they do work are more productive than the hours Americans work?
;-)
Posted by: jp at Apr 9, 2007 7:33:11 PM
OT
I hope you don't mind an off-topic comment, but I think this is important: There is a great post on The Carpetbagger Report from a few days ago about the mainstream media's (specifically Time magazine's) ignoring the prosecutor purge scandal.
What explains the failure of the mainstream media to cover the purge scandal for so long, and so many other scandals? Do you think somebody just set up newspaper editors to cheat on their wives, and threatened to tell if the editors wouldn’t play ball when they come back some day and ask for something?
It wouldn’t be that hard to do, when you think about it. People wouldn’t talk about it.
Posted by: Swan at Apr 9, 2007 7:52:34 PM
Thank you!
Posted by: Commenterlein at Apr 9, 2007 8:08:59 PM
Germany 1437 h/y
USA 1713
Italy 1801
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/41/29867131.pdf
I guees OCDE wont make bogus statistics
Posted by: jcm at Apr 9, 2007 8:26:45 PM
warning warning warning!!!!!
WIKIPEDIA alert!!!!!
we now return you to your regularly scheduled lunacy
Posted by: kevin at Apr 9, 2007 9:34:12 PM
are u in my international econ class? we are reading that
Posted by: Justin at Apr 10, 2007 12:50:04 AM
I live in Perth, Western Australia. Through observation I would say that peak traffic on Friday is at about 3:30 or 4pm here. Roughly an hour and a half earlier than on Thurdays.
According to the OECD, average hours actually worked in 2005 was 1730 - http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/viewhtml.aspx?queryname=307&querytype=view&lang=en
So it seems we Australians work long hours *and* get away early on Fridays.
Posted by: CMC at Apr 10, 2007 4:42:18 AM
good for them, there is more to life than work. europe is a really fun and relaxed place to live, we don't run to stand still. And the women are very very hot.
Posted by: adrian at Apr 10, 2007 5:55:01 AM
'Reform or Decline' Is this another one of those whiny libertarianish books we've read a gazillion times before that confuses wealth and economic growth with happiness and contentment? Yawn yawn and triple yawn.
Long live the siesta! Long live shops closed on Sundays!
Posted by: adrian at Apr 10, 2007 6:00:06 AM
Germany is such a beautiful place, you guys have no idea.
Posted by: adrian at Apr 10, 2007 6:05:31 AM
With all the Euro social programs, labor unions etc. please explain why German car companies are doing so well whilst the 3 American companies seem to be vying for the dustbin.
Posted by: JRip at Apr 10, 2007 6:46:50 AM
interesting comment JRip-- the german and japanese auto firms that are doing so well against Detroit actually have more powerful unions then in Detroit.
So what does that do to the thesis that the unions are responsible for Detroit's downfall?
Posted by: spencer at Apr 10, 2007 8:44:37 AM
Well, I guess that the unions in America are simply not the same as the German ones, so the comparison couldn't possibly work.
Posted by: Martin Eisenhardt at Apr 10, 2007 3:19:07 PM
With all the Euro social programs, labor unions etc. please explain why German car companies are doing so well whilst the 3 American companies seem to be vying for the dustbin.
The "German" auto companies (and "Japanese" auto companies) build their North American cars (North America being the make-or-break auto market) in non-Union "Right To Work" states. Usually their autos are manufactured in places like Georgia, Tennesse... Where as the "American" auto companies build their autos in places like Detroit, which are heavily unionized.
You do realize that U.S. companies manufacture their Euro market cars in Europe, and German companies manufacture their U.S. market cars primarily in the U.S., right? The Ford Focus sold in the U.K. is not manufactured in the U.S., and the M coupe sold in New York is not manufactured in German?
Nice try though.
Posted by: RexRhino at Apr 10, 2007 3:45:07 PM
For what it is worth RexRhino...
1. How are the unionized German car companies doing in their European operations vs. how are the unionized American car companies doing in the USA & Canada?
2. If we want to dig into the failings of the Big 3 the issues go way beyond unions.
Posted by: JRip at Apr 11, 2007 7:45:14 AM
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