Representative Time Use Data and New Harmonised Calibration of the American Heritage Time Use Data (AHTUD) 1965-1999

Posted: 19 Nov 2008

See all articles by Joachim Merz

Joachim Merz

Research Institute on Professions; Research Institute on Professions; Leuphana University of Lueneburg; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Henning Stolze

Research Institute on Professions / Leuphana University

Date Written: November 18, 2008

Abstract

Representative and reliable individual time use data, in connection with a proper set of socio-economic background variables, are essential elements for the empirical foundation and evaluation of existing and new theories in general and in particular for time use analyses. Within the international project Assessing Time Use Survey Datasets several potentially useful individual US time use heritage datasets have been identified for use in developing an historical series of non-market accounts. In order to evaluate the series of American Heritage Time Use Data (AHTUD) (1965, 1975, 1985, 1992-94, 1998-99) this paper analyses the representativeness of this data when using given weights and provides a new harmonised calibration of the AHTUD for sound time use analyses. Our calibration procedure with its ADJUST program package is theoretically founded on information theory, consistent with a simultaneous weighting including hierarchical data, ensures desired positive weights, and is well-suited and available for any time use data calibration of interest. We present the calibration approach and provide new harmonised weights for all AHTUD surveys based on a substantially driven calibration framework. To illustrate the various application possibilities of a calibration, we finally disentangle demographic vs. time use behavioural changes and developments by recalibrating all five AHTUD surveys using 1965 population totals as a benchmark.

Keywords: Representative time use data, calibration (adjustment re-weighting) of microdata, information theory, minimum information loss principle, American Heritage Time Use Data (AHTUD), ADJUST program package

JEL Classification: J22, J29, J11, Z0

Suggested Citation

Merz, Joachim and Merz, Joachim and Stolze, Henning, Representative Time Use Data and New Harmonised Calibration of the American Heritage Time Use Data (AHTUD) 1965-1999 (November 18, 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1303416

Joachim Merz (Contact Author)

Research Institute on Professions ( email )

Lüneburg
Germany

Research Institute on Professions ( email )

Lüneburg
Germany

Leuphana University of Lueneburg

Scharnhorststrasse 1
Lüneburg, 21314
Germany

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Henning Stolze

Research Institute on Professions / Leuphana University ( email )

Lüneburg
Germany

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