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Methodological issues in the estimation of parental time – Analysis of measures in a Canadian time-use survey

Author

Listed:
  • Cara B. Fedick

    (Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy (CRISP), University of New Brunswick)

  • Shelley Pacholok

    (Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University)

  • Anne H. Gauthier

    (Department of Sociology, University of Calgary)

Abstract

Extensive small scale studies have documented that when people assume the role of assisting a person with impairments or an older person, care activities account for a significant portion of their daily routines. Nevertheless, little research has investigated the problem of measuring the time that carers spend in care-related activities. This paper contrasts two different measures of care time – an estimated average weekly hours question in the 1998 Australian Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, and diary estimates from the 1997 national Australian Time Use Survey. This study finds that diaries provide information for a more robust estimate, but only after one models the time use patterns in the days of carers to identify care-related activities, which diarists do not necessarily record as care. Such a measure of care time reveals that even people who offer only occasional assistance to a person with impairments tend to spend the equivalent of more than 10 minutes a day providing care. Most caregivers undertake the equivalent of a part-time job to help a friend or family member. Summing the average caregiving time provided by all household members reveals that over a quarter of Australian households caring for an adult or child provide the equivalent of a full-time employee’s labour, and another quarter work between 20 and 39 total weekly hours to provide informal care.

Suggested Citation

  • Cara B. Fedick & Shelley Pacholok & Anne H. Gauthier, 2005. "Methodological issues in the estimation of parental time – Analysis of measures in a Canadian time-use survey," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 2(1), pages 67-87, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:leu:journl:2005:vol2:p67-87
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    6. Ragni Kitterød, 2001. "Does the recording of parallel activities in Time Use Diaries affect the way people report their main activities?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 145-178, November.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Shelley Pacholok & Anne Gauthier, 2010. "Non-Participant Fathers in Time-Use Studies: Uninvolved or Data Artifact?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 249-266, April.
    2. Berenice Monna & Anne Gauthier, 2008. "A Review of the Literature on the Social and Economic Determinants of Parental Time," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 634-653, December.
    3. Silvia Helena Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014. "Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 157-189, January.
    4. Nancy Folbre & Jayoung Yoon, 2007. "What is child care? Lessons from time-use surveys of major English-speaking countries," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 223-248, September.
    5. Silvia Helena Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014. "Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, pages 157-189.
    6. Ragni Hege Kitterød & Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, 2005. "Diary versus questionnaire information on time spent on housework – The case of Norway," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 2(1), pages 13-32, October.
    7. Magalhães, Graziella & Turchick, David, 2022. "Growth and inequality under different hierarchical education regimes," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    8. Jooyeoun Suh & Nancy Folbre, 2016. "Valuing Unpaid Child Care in the U.S.: A Prototype Satellite Account Using the American Time Use Survey," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 668-684, December.
    9. Casey B. Mulligan & Barbara Schneider & Rustin Wolfe, 2005. "Non-response and population representation in studies of adolescent time use," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 2(1), pages 33-53, October.
    10. Jens Bonke & James McIntosh, 2005. "Household time allocation – Theoretical and empirical results from Denmark," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 2(1), pages 1-12, October.
    11. Kimberly Fisher & Michael Bittman & Patricia Hill & Cathy Thomson, 2005. "The time cost of care," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 2(1), pages 54-66, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Parental time; measurement of parental time; child care; time-use; methodology of time-use;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • J29 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Other

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