Institutions, Social Norms, and Bargaining Power: An Analysis of Individual Leisure Time in Couple Households

does not substitute for preparing dinner). So a single 24 hour period will not be truly
representative of time spent during a week. Furthermore, in many studies there is a not
insignificant chance that men in particular will report no time spent on housework.² Thus,
corner solutions become a problem that can introduce selectivity and bias results.

Time spent on one activity also constrains the time available for other activities.
Market time is clearly endogenous but the timing of market activity is not solely at the
discretion of the individual or household. Market time is also subject to demand side
constraints. However, when more time is spent in the market, there is less time available for
any other activity. To control for market hours, some studies of intrahousehold time
allocation focus exclusively on dual earner couples. Others control for own and partner’s
employment status and/or work hours. Using time use data can complicate this analysis as the
diary day may or may not be a work day for either partner.

We address these concerns by using time use data for their accuracy, by removing at
least the most obvious cases of unrepresentative days, by focusing on leisure time rather than
housework time, and by running sensitivity tests by employment status. As will be shown
shortly, very few respondents report no time in leisure, thus reducing the problems inherent in
limited dependent variables analysis. By distinguishing between work and non-work days as
well as examining samples of dual earner versus single earner couples, we can test to see if
there are substantial differences in the timing of leisure for individuals with more power and
with more market responsibilities.

MODEL

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