Welfare Comparisons, Economies of Scale and Equivalence Scale in Time Use

How does within couples'time-use interactions generate welfare in the family ? In this paper we model economies of scale in time use. Following Browning, Chiappori and Lewbel (2006), we allow intra- household bargaining power to affect the distribution of welfare gains in the family. We estimate the model using the UK Time Use Survey (2000). Results suggest that two single individuals living apart need about 2h15 more to achieve the same utility level as when living in a couple. A woman requires on average 55% of the couple time-resources to be as well-off as when living alone. Time-poverty line is on average 11h per individual a day.