Divergence in part-time work in New Zealand, the Netherlands and Denmark

A comparison of developments in part-time work in New Zealand, the Netherlands and Denmark shows three very different trends. The Dutch are moving towards a ‘part-time economy’, the decline in Danish part-time employment confounds the common expectation of rising atypical employment, while the New Zealand case illustrates some of the negative employment outcomes often associated with part-time employment and provides a contrast to the negotiated, tripartite solutions found in the Netherlands and Denmark. Overall, the diversity in part-time work patterns raises important theoretical and public policy questions, such as the interaction between institutional and preference changes, gender patterns and union strategies.