Total work time in Spain: evidence from time diary data

Abstract

Using detailed time-use data from 2002–03 and 2009–10 for Spain, we analyse changes in the time-allocation decisions of the Spanish population, with a focus on the time devoted to total work. Consistent with prior literature, we document that the concept of ‘iso-work’ (e.g. the time devoted to total work by gender is equal) does not hold in societies with stringent gender roles, such as Spain. Women devote more time to total work than men, and this difference has increased throughout the period studied by 2 hours per week. The relative increase in total work for women compared to men can be explained by a relative increase in market work of 8 hours per week, coupled with a relative decrease in nonmarket work of 6 hours per week, which have led Spanish women to devote, relatively, 2 fewer hours to leisure per week in 2009–10, compared to 2002–03. We propose social norms as a potential explanation of these empirical findings. By uncovering how individuals allocate their time inside and outside the market over a period of time, our results may improve our understanding of the dynamics of economic change and welfare.

Keywords:

• time-use
• gender
• iso-work
• social norms

JEL Classification:

• D13
• J16
• J22

Notes

¹ Although we focus here on social/gender norms as an explanation of the time devoted to childcare activities, prior research has shown that several factors affect the time devoted to this activity, as does time involvement in labour supply, wages, nonlabour income and individual and household characteristics. See Garcia et al. (2011) for an in-depth review of these factors.

² We have also done the analysis including students in an alternative sample. Results are robust to the inclusion and are available upon request.

³ There is a concern, however, that childcare reported as primary activity significantly underestimates total childcare time (Bianchi, 2000; Budig and Folbre, 2004; Folbre and Bittman, 2004), as it does not take into account other time that parents spend supervising children. We acknowledge that our results rely on this simpler definition of childcare. See Sevilla et al. (2010) for a full description of the different definitions of childcare.

⁴ Fahr (2005) includes reading journals and newspapers as ‘informal education’, although describes such activities as ‘part of daily leisure time’, as do we.