Freakanomics: How the Unemployed spent their time in 2009
The American Time Use Survey for 2009 is out. Comparing its results—at a business-cycle trough—to those for 2007 (roughly a cyclical peak) allows for the first resolution of a fundamental question in time allocation/labor supply and macroeconomics: What do people do with their time when aggregate labor demand drops? Some macroeconomists have constructed beautiful models arguing that much of the reduced market time can be shifted to producing things at home—to household production (child care, food preparation, shopping, home repairs, etc.)…
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