The Multitasking of Household Production

The standard household production model does not incorporate multitasking, although time-diary data reveal that individuals regularly multitask. We formulate a model where time spent in child care can be sole-tasked or multitasked with other household production activities. This model implies associations between household productivity factors and both child outcomes and parental time use. We then use data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children and the Australian Time Use Surveys to examine the empirical validity of these implications. Consistent with our model’s predictions, household productivity factors are associated both with child outcomes and parental time use.multitasking, child care, household production

Minimum Wages and Teen Employment: A Spatial Panel Approach

The authors employ spatial econometrics techniques and Annual Averages data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1990-2004 to examine how changes in the minimum wage affect teen employment. Spatial econometrics techniques account for the fact that employment is correlated across states. Such correlation may exist if a change in the minimum wage in a state affects employment not only in its own state but also in other, neighboring states. The authors show that state minimum wages negatively affect teen employment to a larger degree than is found in studies that do not account for this correlation. Their results show a combined direct and indirect effect of minimum wages on teen employment to be -2.1% for a 10% increase in the real effective minimum wage. Ignoring spatial correlation underestimates the magnitude of the effect of minimum wages on teen employment.minimum wage, teen employment, spatial econometrics

Time to Work or Time to Play: The Effect of Student Employment on Homework, Sleep, and Screen Time

We use detailed time-diary information on high school students' daily activities from the 2003-2008 American Time Use Surveys (ATUS) to investigate the effects of employment on the time a student spends on homework and other major activities. Time-diary data are more detailed and accurate than data derived from responses to 'usual activity' survey questions underlying other analyses and capture the immediate effects of working that may well accumulate over time to affect future outcomes. Our results suggest that employment decreases the time that high school students spend on human-capital-building activities such as homework and extracurricular activities, but also decreases screen time, which may be considered unproductive time. Results for sleep suggest that working teens may not suffer from reduced sleep time.teenagers, employment, high school, time allocation

How do Adolescents Spell Time Use?

We investigate how household disadvantage affects the time use of 15-18 year-olds using 2003- 2006 data from the American Time Use Survey. Applying competing-risk hazard models, we distinguish between the incidence and duration of activities and incorporate the daily time constraint. We find that teens living in disadvantaged households spend less time in nonclassroom schooling activities than other teens. Girls spend some of this time in work activities, suggesting they are taking on adult roles. However we find more evidence of substitution into unsupervised activities, suggesting that it may be less structured environments that reduce educational investment.Time use, adolescence, event history models

How Do Adolescents Spell Time Use?

We investigate how household disadvantage affects the time use of 15-18 year-olds using 2003-2006 data from the American Time Use Survey. Applying competing-risk hazard models, we distinguish between the incidence and duration of activities and incorporate the daily time constraint. We find that teens living in disadvantaged households spend less time in non-classroom schooling activities than other teens. Girls spend some of this time in work activities, suggesting they are taking on adult roles. However we find more evidence of substitution into unsupervised activities, suggesting that it may be less structured environments that reduce educational investment.event history models, adolescence, time use

"Parental Child Care in Single Parent, Cohabiting, and Married Couple Families: Time Diary Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom"

This study uses time diary data from the 2003 American Time Use Survey and the United Kingdom Time Use Survey 2000 to examine the time that single, cohabiting, and married parents devote to caring for their children. Time spent in market work, in child care as a primary activity, and in child care as a passive activity are jointly modeled using a correlated, censored regression model. Separate estimates are provided by gender, by country, and by weekend/weekday day. We find no evidence that these time allocation decisions differ for cohabiting and married parents, but there is evidence that single persons allocate time differently - as might be expected, given different household time constraints. In the U.S. single fathers spend significantly more time in primary child care on weekdays and substantially less time in passive child care on weekends than their married or cohabiting counterparts, while in the UK single fathers spend significantly more time in passive child care on weekdays. Single fathers in each country report less time at work on weekdays than their married or cohabiting counterparts. In the U.S., single mothers work more than married or cohabiting mothers on weekdays, while single mothers in the United Kingdom work less than married or cohabiting mothers on all days.

Minimum Wages and Teen Employment: A Spatial Panel Approach

The authors employ spatial econometric techniques and Annual Averages data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1990-2004 to examine how changes in the minimum wage affect teen employment. Spatial econometric techniques account for the fact that employment is correlated across states. Such correlation may exist if a change in the minimum wage in a state affects employment not only in its own state but also in other, neighboring states. The authors show that state minimum wages negatively affect teen employment to a larger degree than is found in studies that do not account for this correlation. Their results show a combined direct and indirect effect of minimum wages on teen employment to be -2.1% for a 10% increase in the real effective minimum wage. Ignoring spatial correlation underestimates the magnitude of the effect of minimum wages on teen employment