The Allocation of Women's Time: An International Comparison

Abstract

This paper reviews measures of time devoted by adult women to market work, household work, and leisure as reported in a number of previous studies. It sumrnar izes data from eight studies in developed market economies, eleven studies in developed central planned economies, and nine studies in less developed countries. Comparisons between women employed in formal labor markets and women with out formal employment are made. They show that women in planned economies tend to have the highest levels of both market and household work and the lowest levels of leisure. Most of this difference, however, is accounted for by the relatively high levels of formal employment by women in planned economies. In all types of economies, employed women work more hours and enjoy roughly two and three- quarters hours less leisure per day than housewives. My economic interpretation of this pattern argues that costs associated with obtaining and keeping market employ ment of women can explain the substantial differences in leisure among them.

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