Measuring Time Use in Development Settings
This paper discusses the challenges associated with collecting time-use data in developing countries. The paper suggests potential solutions, concentrating on the two most common time-use methods used in development settings: stylized questions and...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/443201500384614625/Measuring-time-use-in-development-settings http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27954 |
| Summary: | This paper discusses the challenges
associated with collecting time-use data in developing
countries. The paper suggests potential solutions,
concentrating on the two most common time-use methods used
in development settings: stylized questions and time
diaries. The paper identifies a significant lack of rigorous
empirical research comparing these methods in development
settings, and begins to fill this gap by analyzing data from
Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index surveys in
Bangladesh and Uganda. The surveys include stylized
questions and time diary estimates for the same individual.
The study finds limited evidence that stylized questions are
more feasible (in terms of interview length) but also less
accurate, compared with time diaries. These results are
attributed to the relatively greater cognitive burden
imposed on respondents by stylized questions. The paper
discusses the importance of broadening the scope of time-use
research to capture the quantity and quality of time, to
achieve richer insights into gendered time-use patterns and
trends. The paper suggests a path forward that combines
mainstream time-use data collection methods with promising
methodological innovations from other disciplines. |
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