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Xboxes and Ex-workers? Gaming and Labor Supply of Young Adults in the U.S

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  • Kimbrough, Gray

Abstract

One popular hypothesis holds that the increasing appeal of video games over the last decade has led men to reduce working hours. I examine American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data in detail, documenting the extent of the increase in gaming. I note that increasing gaming time is generally offset by decreasing time spent on other electronics leisure. Moreover, I find that the observed trend is consistent with an alternative explanation, that a shift in social norms rendered playing video games more acceptable at later ages, particularly for non-employed men. The increase in gaming is concentrated among men living with parents, and is not uniform for all ages of young adults. The data further suggest that men exiting the work force do not exhibit significant preferences for gaming leisure.

Suggested Citation

  • Kimbrough, Gray, 2018. "Xboxes and Ex-workers? Gaming and Labor Supply of Young Adults in the U.S," MPRA Paper 87311, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:87311
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harley Frazis & Jay Stewart, 2012. "How to Think about Time-Use Data: What Inferences Can We Make about Long- and Short-Run Time Use from Time Diaries?," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 105-106, pages 231-245.
    2. Jordan D. Matsudaira, 2016. "Economic conditions and the living arrangements of young adults: 1960 to 2011," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 167-195, January.
    3. Mark Aguiar & Mark Bils & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Erik Hurst, 2021. "Leisure Luxuries and the Labor Supply of Young Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(2), pages 337-382.
    4. repec:adr:anecst:y:2012:i:105-106:p:11 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Jordan Matsudaira, 2016. "Economic conditions and the living arrangements of young adults: 1960 to 2011," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 167-195, January.
    6. Claudia Goldin & Robert A. Margo, 1992. "The Great Compression: The Wage Structure in the United States at Mid-Century," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(1), pages 1-34.
    7. Katharine G. Abraham & Melissa S. Kearney, 2020. "Explaining the Decline in the US Employment-to-Population Ratio: A Review of the Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(3), pages 585-643, September.
    8. Alan B. Krueger, 2017. "Where Have All the Workers Gone? An Inquiry into the Decline of the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 1-87.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Time use; video games; labor supply;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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