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The war on public holidays is far too lazy
Governments struggling to plug budget gaps are eyeing holidays as an easy target, but how much does an axed day off really contribute to the economy?
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US President Donald Trump took issue with the number of non-working holidays in the country on Juneteenth, claiming the holidays were costing the country billions of dollars.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chris Bryant
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Worries about fiscal sustainability and tepid economic growth are enticing governments to embrace a simple but controversial step: Reduce the number of public holidays, so employees produce more.
Yet the economic benefit of doing this is marginal. There are better ways to boost productivity and the number of hours worked that would neutralise bitter conflicts about how the economic cake is divided.
