Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/272717 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16090
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Using the American and the French time-use surveys, we examine whether people have a preference for a more diversified mix of activities, in the sense that they experience greater well-being when their time schedule contains many different activities rather than is concentrated on a very small number. This could be due to decreasing marginal utility, as is assumed for goods consumption, if each episode of time is conceived as yielding a certain level of utility per se. With returns to specialization, people would then face a trade-off between efficiency and diversity in choosing how to allocate time. We examine these issues and investigate potential gender differences, considering both instantaneous feelings and life satisfaction.
Subjects: 
time allocation
time-use diversity
subjective well-being
life satisfaction
momentary utility
gender
JEL: 
I31
J22
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
973.18 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.