Couples' Time Together: Complementarities in Production versus Complementarities in Consumption
Hani Mansour1, Terra McKinnish2
1University of Colorado Denver and IZA.
Journal of Population Economics
|November 1, 2019
Summary
Married couples without young children who specialize more in work hours spend less weekend time together. This effect is symmetrical, regardless of who works more hours. Child presence alters this dynamic.
Area of Science:
- Family Economics
- Sociology of the Family
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Marriage economic gains are theorized to stem from production (specialization) or consumption complementarities.
- Previous research has not empirically tested the link between work specialization and couple time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between married couples' work specialization and their shared leisure time.
- To determine if specialization in market work hours influences couple time together.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) spanning 2003-2011.
- Analyzed the correlation between differences in weekly work hours and time spent together on non-working weekend days for married couples.
- Differentiated analysis based on the presence of young children.
Main Results:
- Among childless couples, greater differences in weekly work hours between spouses correlate with less shared weekend leisure time.
- This negative relationship between work specialization and couple time is symmetrical, affecting both husband- and wife-dominant work hours.
- No significant relationship was found between work specialization and couple time in households with young children.
Conclusions:
- Work specialization, indicated by differing market work hours, may reduce shared leisure time for childless couples.
- The presence of young children appears to moderate or eliminate the impact of work specialization on couple time.
- Findings suggest distinct patterns of time allocation and couple interaction based on family structure and work dynamics.
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