Lower educated workers and part-time work: The Netherlands 1973-91

The thesis of the article is that strong growth in the number of part-time jobs in The Netherlands between 1973 and 1991 negatively affected the labour market participation of men, especially lower educated men. The thesis consists of a behavioural component, which explains why lower educated men are not attracted and do not gain access to part-time jobs, and an institutional component, which explains why the labour market position of lower educated men in The Netherlands deteriorated relatively rapidly during the period 1973–91. The thesis is underpinned by an empirical analysis of labour market participation of lower educated male workers in part-time and full-time jobs. Competing theses, such as upgrading of the job structure, displacement by better educated workers and sector shift from manufacturing to services, are tested empirically, but prove to be less convincing explanations for the deteriorated labour market position of lower educated men than the explanation of the growth of part-time jobs.