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



Looking at leisure time, we find as hypothesized that power is more closely related to
leisure time in the US than in Denmark. While power is jointly significantly associated with
leisure time in the US at the 1% level, it is not significant at even the 25% level in Denmark.
The relation between power and leisure time is positive in all four specifications in the US,
but only two in Denmark. The relation is individually highly statistically significant in two
specifications in the US and marginally significant in one case in Denmark - all on non-work
days.

That the impact of economic power on leisure time is particularly strong on non-work
days suggests some avenues for further research. Time constraints may limit opportunities for
leisure on work days. Further, the leisure classification itself warrants some attention. We
have assumed that all leisure time is equivalent. That is not necessarily true. Some activities
classified as leisure are more like responsibilities than others -attending a child’s sporting
event versus settling down to read a good book. In addition, leisure time spent with others
may have a different value than leisure time spent alone and may be more difficult to arrange
as it requires coordination. Unfortunately information on who else was present during an
activity is often missing in the DTUS, precluding further joint analysis of this issue.
Preliminary analysis of leisure time spent alone from the ATUS did not suggest a stronger
association with economic power.

Our results were fairly robust in other dimensions. We found similar effects across
couples with different work arrangements. In addition, there is some evidence that economic
power is less closely related to leisure time for women with very little education in the US,
the group of women most likely to be eligible for government welfare support in the event the
relationship dissolves. This result suggests that it is not just egalitarian values but also

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