French Family Values - New York Times

Krugman: "But the study also suggests that in this case, government regulations actually allow people to make a desirable tradeoff - to modestly lower income in return for more time with friends and family - the kind of deal an individual would find hard to negotiate."

Yay for good public policy! This blurb is an interesting point, that those who have a preference to work less may have difficulty asking for it in a culture where it may reflect poorly on their committment to work, or their friends and family might not be able to get thie time off to join oneself.

The only downside is that when I head off to France this Sunday, they're all going to be on vacation too. Embouteillage, here I come.