Whereas the preferences of consumers are a cornerstone of market economies, the preferences of employees, e.g., regarding the preferred amount of paid labour, usually are not. However, we have strong evidence that differences between aspired and actually worked weekly hours have a serious...

Purpose – Labor market programs may affect unemployed individuals' behavior before they enroll. The aim of this paper is to study whether such ex ante effects differ according to ethnic origin. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply a method that relates self-reported perceived...