THE DETERMINANTS OF TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL, COMMUNITY AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES BY FARM HOUSEHOLDS IN THE WEST OF IRELAND

Understanding the determinants of farm households’ social engagement patterns in rural communities is important for public policy programs that seek to improve the well-being of the rural population and promote rural sustainability. Within this context, this paper examines the factors that influence both the participation in, and the number of hours dedicated to, social, community and leisure activities among farm operators and their spouse/partner in a region in the West of Ireland. The theoretical underpinnings of this research are an extension of Becker’s (1965, 1974) and Gronau’s (1977) agricultural household models, whereby households maximise utility subject to a set of constraints, household income and time endowment. The study employs a time-use diary survey, combined with an individual and household survey, to collect data from farm households in counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. A Craggs double hurdle model is used to estimate the predictors of time-use and the number of hours spent participating in a range of off-farm activities.