13 Sep Economists from the LM²C² Millennium Nucleus at the 2024 SECHI Annual Meeting

The director of the LM²C² Millennium Nucleus Research Center, Felipe Balmaceda, along with co-director Paola Bordón and principal researchers Benjamín Villena, Mauricio Tejeda took part in the 2024 SECHI Annual Meeting, recently held in Concepción.
The event, organized by the Institute of Economic Policy at the Andrés Bello National University’s Faculty of Economics and Business (UNAB), featured keynote speakers Linda Tesar (University of Michigan), Rosario Macera (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), and James Robinson (University of Chicago).
During the meeting, LM²C² Millennium Nucleus researchers Mauricio Tejada and Benjamín Villena presented their co-authored work titled “Working Hours Policy Reform: Micro and Macro Impacts." Their research examines the effects of the 2005 reform that reduced the legal workweek from 48 to 45 hours.
The macroeconomic analysis reveals a significant negative impact on salaried employment, along with an increase in self-employment and the duration of unemployment. The findings suggest that while reducing the workweek may lead to an overall increase in employment and self-employment, it also results in a decline in salaried employment and longer periods of unemployment, which aligns with broader macroeconomic estimates.
These results highlight that labor reforms can have unintended consequences in the labor market, emphasizing the need for comprehensive and careful analysis when designing and implementing such policies.
It is worth noting that this annual meeting is one of the most significant events for the economic community in Chile, bringing together leading academics and experts from national and international universities to discuss critical issues such as economic growth, public policy, inequality, and sustainable development.