Time-diary data from four countries suggest that differences in market time between the unemployed and employed represent additional leisure and personal maintenance rather than increased household production. U.S. data for 2003-2006 show that almost none of the reduction in market work in areas...

Economists have devoted substantial attention to firms’ supply of variety, but little to consumers' demand for variety. Employing the framework of home production, we trace differences in demand to differences in the opportunity costs of activities, which are associated with investments in...

Using time-diary data from 25 countries, we demonstrate that there is a negative relationship between real GDP per capita and the female-male difference in total work time per day-the sum of work for pay and work at home. In rich northern countries on four continents there is no difference-men...

Using time-diary data from 25 countries, we demonstrate that there is a negative relationship between real GDP per capita and the female-male difference in total work time per day - the sum of work for pay and work at home. In rich northern countries on four continents, including the United...

Social commentators have pointed to problems of workers who face "time stress" an absence of sufficient time to accomplish all their tasks. An economic theory views time stress as reflecting how tightly the time constraint binds households. Time stress will be more prevalent in households with...

Market productivity is often greater, and leisure and other household activities more enjoyable, when people perform them simultaneously. Beyond pointing out the positive externalities of synchronicity, economists have not attempted to identify exogenous causes that affect timing. We develop a...