TY  - JOUR
AU  - Aguiar,Mark
AU  - Hurst,Erik
TI  - The Increase in Leisure Inequality
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 13837
PY  - 2008
Y2  - March 2008
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13837
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13837.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Mark A. Aguiar
Department of Economics
University of Rochester
P.O. Box 270156
Rochester, NY 14627-0156
Tel: 585/275-4196
E-Mail: mark@markaguiar.com

Erik Hurst
Graduate School of Business
University of Chicago
Hyde Park Center
Chicago, IL  60637
Tel: 773/834-4073
Fax: 773/702-0458
E-Mail: erik.hurst@gsb.uchicago.edu
AB  - This paper examines the changing allocation of time within the United States that has occurred between 1965 and 2003-2005.  We find that the time individuals have allocated to leisure has increased in the U.S. for both men and women during this period, with almost the entire gain occurring prior to 1985.  We also find that post 1985 there has been a substantial increase in leisure inequality, particularly for men.  Over the last 20 years, less educated men increased the time they allocated to leisure while more educated men recorded a decrease in leisure time.  While the relative decline in the employment rate of less educated men is important, trends in employment status explain less than half of the increase in the leisure gap.
ER  -