Timing Constraints and the Allocation of Time: The Effects of Changing Shopping Hours Regulations in the Netherlands

31 Pages Posted: 17 Sep 2004

See all articles by Joyce P. Jacobsen

Joyce P. Jacobsen

Wesleyan University - Department of Economics

Peter Kooreman

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: September 2004

Abstract

A 1996 change in shopping hours regulations in the Netherlands provides an opportunity to study the effects of timing constraints on total time spent in shopping, working, and other activities as well as the timing of these activities. We develop a simple structural model to make predictions about the effects of imposition and relaxation of a timing constraint on time use patterns, and utilize time diary data from 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2000 to examine time use patterns by demographic group before and after the change. In addition to a change in the timing of shopping, we find a non-negligible increase in the total time spent shopping.

Keywords: time allocation, labor supply

JEL Classification: D12, J22

Suggested Citation

Jacobsen, Joyce P. and Kooreman, Peter, Timing Constraints and the Allocation of Time: The Effects of Changing Shopping Hours Regulations in the Netherlands (September 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=592342 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.592342

Joyce P. Jacobsen

Wesleyan University - Department of Economics ( email )

238 Church Street
Middletown, CT 06459-0007
United States

Peter Kooreman (Contact Author)

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.peterkooreman.nl

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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

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