IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cup/jbcoan/v10y2019is1p51-72_00.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Valuing Changes in Time Use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Whittington, Dale
  • Cook, Joseph

Abstract

Valuing changes in time use is often a critical element of economic analyses of development projects. In this paper we review the literature on the monetary value of time in low- and middle-income countries and find support for a commonly used benchmark of 50% of after-tax wages for time changes in activities in the informal sector, such as collecting water or traveling to health clinics. We offer recommendations to analysts who are conducting benefit-cost analyses in these settings about what methods they can use to estimate the value of time. These include a benefits transfer approach and also a relatively simple stated preference approach that might be deployed in a specific context if the project recommendation is sensitive to the assumption of the value of time or if the distribution of the benefits of time savings is especially important.

Suggested Citation

  • Whittington, Dale & Cook, Joseph, 2019. "Valuing Changes in Time Use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(S1), pages 51-72, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jbcoan:v:10:y:2019:i:s1:p:51-72_00
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2194588818000210/type/journal_article
    File Function: link to article abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jaime Larumbe, 2021. "Evaluating Sustainability of Mass Rapid Transit Stations in Dubai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Diogo Da Fonseca-Soares & Josicleda Domiciano Galvinicio & Sayonara Andrade Eliziário & Angel Fermin Ramos-Ridao, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of the Trends and Characteristics of Railway Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Babak Khavari & Camilo Ramirez & Marc Jeuland & Francesco Fuso Nerini, 2023. "A geospatial approach to understanding clean cooking challenges in sub-Saharan Africa," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(4), pages 447-457, April.
    4. Margolies, Amy & Colantuoni, Elizabeth & Morgan, Rosemary & Gelli, Aulo & Caulfield, Laura, 2023. "The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    5. Krishnapriya, P.P. & Chandrasekaran, Maya & Jeuland, Marc & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K., 2021. "Do improved cookstoves save time and improve gender outcomes? Evidence from six developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Majid Hashemi & Mikhail Miklyaev & Glenn P. Jenkins, 2022. "Estimations of the Social Value of Time in Ghana," Development Discussion Papers 2022-05, JDI Executive Programs.
    7. Ferranna, Maddalena & Sevilla, J.P. & Zucker, Leo & Bloom, David E., 2022. "Patterns of Time Use among Older People," IZA Discussion Papers 15227, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Joseph Cook & Jane Kabubo-Mariara & Peter Kimuyu, 2022. "Happy at Work in Africa? Measuring Hedonic Well-Being Among Water Carriers in Rural Kenya Using the Experience Sampling Method," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 2449-2468, August.
    9. Satarupa Chakravarty & Sukanya Das & Saudamini Das, 2021. "Unreliable Public Water Supply and Coping Mechanisms of Low-Income Households in Delhi," IEG Working Papers 448, Institute of Economic Growth.
    10. Jake Wagner & Joseph Cook & Peter Kimuyu, 2019. "Household Demand for Water in Rural Kenya," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(4), pages 1563-1584, December.
    11. Seungman Cha & Sunghoon Jung & Dawit Belew Bizuneh & Tadesse Abera & Young-Ah Doh & Jieun Seong & Ian Ross, 2020. "Benefits and Costs of a Community-Led Total Sanitation Intervention in Rural Ethiopia—A Trial-Based Ex Post Economic Evaluation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-21, July.
    12. Cook, Joseph & Kabubo-Mariara, Jane & Kimuyu, Peter, 2021. "The Short-Run Impacts of Reducing Water Collection Times on Time Use, Well-Being and Education in Rural Kenya," EfD Discussion Paper 21-9, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    13. Suzanne M. Simkovich & Kendra N. Williams & Suzanne Pollard & David Dowdy & Sheela Sinharoy & Thomas F. Clasen & Elisa Puzzolo & William Checkley, 2019. "A Systematic Review to Evaluate the Association between Clean Cooking Technologies and Time Use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-16, June.
    14. Randriamaro, Mary Tiana & Cook, Joseph, 2022. "The value of time, with and without a smartphone," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 138-146.
    15. Randall Bluffstone & Abebe D. Beyene & Zenebe Gebreegziabher & Peter Martinsson & Alemu Mekonnen & Michael Toman, 2022. "Experience and Learning with Improved Technologies: Evidence from Improved Biomass Cookstoves in Ethiopia," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(2), pages 271-285, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:jbcoan:v:10:y:2019:i:s1:p:51-72_00. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cambridge.org/bca .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.