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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 26 No. 2 2008

Cues for Timing and Coordination: Latitude, Letterman, and Longitude

Daniel S. Hamermesh1; Caitlin Knowles Myers2; Mark Pocock3,4

1 National Bureau of Economic Research · 2 Middlebury College · 3 Treasury · 4 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Abstract

Daylight, television schedules, and time zones can alter timing and induce temporal coordination of economic activities. With the American Time Use Survey for 2003–2004 and data from Australia for 1992, we show that television schedules and the locations of time zones affect the timing of market work and sleep, with differences in timing being generated partly by returns to coordination with other agents. The responsiveness to time zone differences is greatest among workers in industries in national markets. An exogenous shock resulting from an area’s nonadherence to daylight saving time leads its residents to alter work schedules to coordinate with people elsewhere.

DOI
10.1086/525027
Volume
26
Issue
2
Pages
223-246
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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