Gender, Time Use, and Models of the Household
The aim of this paper is to explain why time use data are essential for analyzing issues of gender equity and the intra-household allocation of resources, comparing living standards, and estimating the behavioral effects of changes in policy variab...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/03/3163228/gender-time-use-models-household http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15624 |
| Summary: | The aim of this paper is to explain why
time use data are essential for analyzing issues of gender
equity and the intra-household allocation of resources,
comparing living standards, and estimating the behavioral
effects of changes in policy variables. The first step in
the exposition is to show that the neglect of these data in
much of the literature on household behavior, in both
developed and developing economies, can be traced to
unrealistic assumptions on domestic production and the
mistaken idea that non-market time can be viewed as leisure.
It is argued that an approach is required that makes
explicit the need for data on the time family members spend
on domestic work as well as on labor supply. An approach of
this kind is outlined and used to identify the specialized
assumptions that are employed when they are missing. The
paper also discusses the limitations of available time use
survey datasets that are due to deficiencies in survey
design. The more serious and common problems are illustrated
using as case studies the Statistics South Africa 2000 Time
Use Survey and the time use module included in the
Nicaraguan 1998 Living Standards Measurements Survey. |
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