Does working less pay off? A study on the effect of part-time work on mental and physical health of Dutch women

Dutch women are known for working part-time. As the legislative setting in the Netherlands makes working part-time particularly attractive, the effect of working on part-time on physical and mental health can be examined. This is done within this study, using longitudinal data from a Dutch sample. As the causation between part-time work and health is likely to be two-sided, a fixed effects model with an instrumental variable is used. I find that switching from full- to part-time working is beneficial for the mental health of employed Dutch women. Moreover, I provide evidence for reverse causality between part-time work and mental health. The effect of part-time work on physical health remains unclear.