66 Finance & economics The EconomistSeptember 7th 2019
1G
etting holdof a Dutch woman on a
Wednesday can be tricky. For most
primary schools it is a half-day, and as
three-quarters of working women are part-
time, it is a popular day to take off. The
Dutch are world champions at part-time
work and are often lauded for their healthy
work-life balance and happy children. But
these come at a price. Among western
European countries, the Netherlands has
the largest gap between men’s and wom-
en’s pension entitlements, and the largest
in monthly income. Even though a similar
share of Dutch women are in the labour
force as elsewhere in western Europe, their
contribution to gdp, at 33%, is far lower,
largely because they work fewer hours.
In the rich world part-time working
took off in the second half of the 20th cen-
tury, as services replaced manufacturing
and women piled into the labour market. It
remains essential to helping women work,
particularly after giving birth, and in coun-
tries with traditional gender norms. But it
can prolong—or even worsen—gender in-
equality and make women less indepen-
dent by locking them into jobs with worse
pay and prospects. Differences in working
hours explain a growing part of the gender
pay gap. That share could increase as la-
bour markets disproportionately reward
those willing and able to work all hours—
who are mostly men.
Almost one in five workers globally are
part-time (defined as working fewer than
35 hours a week). In many countries mar-
ried women are the group most likely to
work part-time, and married men the least
likely to (see chart 1 on next page). In the eu
nearly one in three women in work aged
20-64 are part-time, compared with fewer
than one in 12 men (see chart 2). After the fi-
nancial crisis the number of “involuntary”
part-timers—workers who would take
more hours if they could get them—rose
alarmingly in some countries, including
America, Britain and Spain.
Family obligations often lead women to
choose to work part-time. In America 34%
of female part-timers, and just 9% of male
ones, cite this as their main reason. In the
eu the figures are 44% and 16%. “Part-time
work can be very positive when the alterna-
tive would have been women leaving the
labour market altogether,” says Andrea
Bassanini of the oecd. Its availability has
been credited with the rapid growth of fe-
male participation not just in the Nether-AMSTERDAM
Part-time jobs help women stay in paid
work. They can also hold women backWorking hoursBalancing act
T
his summerPret A Manger, purveyor
of sandwiches to desk-workers in the
white-collar cities of the West, added
lobster rolls to its menu. In Britain they
cost £5.99 ($7.31); in America $9.99. In
both countries they are filled with lob-
ster from Maine, along with cucumber,
mayonnaise and more. Rent and labour
cost about the same in London as in
downtown New York or Boston. Neither
sticker price includes sales tax. Yet a Pret
lobster roll in America is a third pricier
than in Britain, even though the lobster
comes from nearer by.
This Pret price gap is not limited to
lobster rolls. According to data gathered
by The Economiston the dozen Pret sand-
wiches that are most similar in the two
countries, the American ones cost on
average 74% more (see chart). An egg
sandwich in New York costs $4.99 to
London’s £1.79, more than double. A tuna
baguette costs two-thirds more. The
price mismatch is intriguing—the more
so for The Economist, which publishes the
Big Mac index, a cross-country compari-
son of burger prices, which shows a 43%
transatlantic disparity.
Menu pricing starts with a simple
rule, says John Buchanan of the consult-
ing arm of Lettuce Entertain You En-
terprises, a restaurant group: take the
cost of ingredients and multiply by three.
Then ask yourself how much customers
would expect to pay for a dish of this
type, and how much they would expect to
pay for it from you. A Pret lobster roll and
one from a fancy seafood restaurant are
quite different propositions. Lastly,
check what the competition charges.
“Only a small part of this decision is what
I would call scientific,” says Mr Buchan-an. “A lot has to do with a subjective
judgment of what the market will bear.”
The lunch market is local. New York-
ers do not care about prices in London.
And they—alongside Bostonians and
Washingtonians—are used to their local
high prices, for reasons that include
bigger portions (though not at Pret) and
tipping habits. Londoners are keener on
sandwich lunches, which means stiffer
competition in that part of the market.
Often lunch prices vary by neigh-
bourhood. jdWetherspoon, a British pub
chain, prides itself on low prices, but
allows them to differ by branch. In 2017
the Financial Timesfound that the most
expensive Spoons charged over 40%
more than the cheapest one. They also
vary by time: many restaurants charge
more for dinner than for lunch. Percep-
tions of value for money are relative not
absolute. For Pret’s lobster rolls, it’s a
case of claws and effect.Consider the lobster roll
Menu pricingWhy Americans pay more for lunchShell companies
Selected Pret A Manger sandwiches, prices, $
August 2019Source: Pret A MangerLondon Boston
1086420Egg sandwichTuna and cucumber
baguetteHam and cheese
sandwichBang bang
chicken wrapChicken caesar
and bacon baguetteLobster roll