Abolish holidays? New study disproves economic growth myth!

Abolish holidays? New study disproves economic growth myth!

A comprehensive study by the Hans Böckler Foundation, which was carried out on behalf of the Institute for Macroeconomics and Business Cycle Research (IMK), shows that the abolition of public holidays has no positive impact on economic growth. These findings were highlighted in a recently published analysis based on several specific cases in Germany where public holidays were either canceled or re-introduced. Overall, the researchers found that in over half of these cases, economic development was better in the federal states that maintained or introduced new holidays. [Time reports]   [Böckler reports].

A central case is Saxony, which kept the day of repentance and prayer as a public holiday. This federal state grew economically by 9.7%, while the national average was only 3.4%. This difference highlights how important holidays can be for economic stability and growth. Prof. Dr. Sebastian Dullien, scientific director of the IMK, emphasizes that the widespread assumption that fewer holidays lead to higher growth is overly simplified and not very effective.

Analysis of holiday changes

The study specifies six significant changes since 1990:

• Abschaffung des Buß- und Bettages in allen Bundesländern außer Sachsen (1995).
• Ausdehnung des Reformationstags auf alle Bundesländer (2017).
• Wegfall des Reformationstags in vielen Bundesländern (2018).
• Einführung des Internationalen Frauentags in Berlin (2019).
• Einführung des Weltkindertags in Thüringen (2019).
• Einführung des Internationalen Frauentags in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (2023).

The results of the analysis show that countries that maintain public holidays tend to have more robust economic development. The GDP in Berlin grew by 2.0% above the national average in 2019 after International Women's Day was introduced. In contrast, economic growth in Thuringia fell 0.4% below the national average after the introduction of World Children's Day in the same year.

Economic factors and holidays

The researchers argue that fewer holidays have no clear positive impact on economic performance because companies' flexibility in planning orders is crucial. According to IMK, the demand situation of companies is the limiting factor for production, not the number of holidays. Therefore, productivity and innovation are crucial for overall economic performance, and not just the number of working hours.

In summary, the study shows that holidays not only have cultural and social significance, but also deeper economic effects on the development of the federal states. A reduction in public holidays could actually have negative consequences for productivity and the overall working atmosphere, as less recovery time is suspected, which could reduce productivity.