Changes in Time Use over the Transition to Adulthood in Developing Countries: New Insights from Comparative Analysis

Cynthia B. Lloyd, Population Council
Amanda Ritchie, Population Council
Monica Grant, Population Council
Barbara Mensch, Population Council

We address three research questions in this paper: (1) How does time-use change over the transition to adulthood? (2) Does gender role differentiation intensify over the transition? (3) Does school attendance attenuate gender differences? In the last 5 years, various researchers at the Population Council have been involved in the collection of 24-hour recall data on time use from adolescents in Pakistan, Vietnam, rural Kenya, urban India, urban South Africa and rural Bangladesh. Sufficient data have now been collected to allow for comparative analysis. These data are supplemented by comparable data from Guatemala and Nicaragua from the Living Standard Measurement surveys. Our research addresses significant gaps in the literature including the lack of attention to how time use is affected by school attendance, the lack of attention to domestic work as a form of child labor and the focus on participation rates rather that overall work burdens.