Economics & Finance / Economic Theory / Labor Economics

Measuring Leisure- revealing profound changes in how Americans allocate their time.

Measuring Leisure

Mark Aguiar, Erik Hurst

This academic paper, authored by Mark Aguiar and Erik Hurst, analyzes time-lapse survey data from five periods between 1965 and 2003, revealing profound changes in how Americans allocate their time. The core finding is that while statistically stable market working hours have remained relatively constant, Americans' leisure time has increased significantly, with men gaining 6 to 8 hours per week and women 4 to 8 hours. This increase is primarily attributed to a decrease in men's market working hours and a significant reduction in women's time spent on domestic production (such as housework). The authors further reveal inequalities in the distribution of leisure resources among different social groups, noting that groups with lower levels of education have experienced the largest increases in leisure. This disparity in leisure allocation mirrors wage and expenditure inequalities, suggesting that measuring national welfare solely by income is incomplete. By distinguishing between "domestic production" and "genuine leisure," this paper constructs a more precise framework for measuring welfare, clarifying how technological progress and wage changes are reshaping the boundaries between work and life for modern people.