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Behavioral responses to Daylight Savings Time

Author

Listed:
  • Sexton, Alison L.
  • Beatty, Timothy K.M.

Abstract

Daylight Savings Time (DST) is promoted as a tool to conserve energy. However, ex post reduced form estimates of the effects of DST find no evidence of energy savings and find some evidence of a small increase in energy use. This paper investigates this disconnect using detailed individual time use data to look at the behavioral effects of DST. We study how individuals change their time use in response to the abrupt shift in daylight associated with DST. We leverage two natural experiments to identify the effect of DST on behavior. First, we study periods around the annual shift in daylight induced by moving into and out of DST. Second, we compare activities by time interval before and after the change in DST start dates that occurred in 2007. We find cautious evidence that individuals are shifting potentially energy intensive activities earlier in the day, which is consistent with earlier findings of increased energy usage.

Suggested Citation

  • Sexton, Alison L. & Beatty, Timothy K.M., 2014. "Behavioral responses to Daylight Savings Time," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 290-307.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:107:y:2014:i:pa:p:290-307
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2014.03.012
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lisa A. Kramer & Mark J. Kamstra & Maurice D. Levi, 2000. "Losing Sleep at the Market: The Daylight Saving Anomaly," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 1005-1011, September.
    2. Matthew J. Kotchen & Laura E. Grant, 2011. "Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1172-1185, November.
    3. Guido Imbens & Karthik Kalyanaraman, 2012. "Optimal Bandwidth Choice for the Regression Discontinuity Estimator," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(3), pages 933-959.
    4. David S. Lee & Thomas Lemieux, 2010. "Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 281-355, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Turns out Daylight Saving Time really does suck
      by Ask Umbra® in Grist Business and Technology on 2015-11-05 17:00:01

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jin, Lawrence & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2015. "Does Daylight Saving Time Really Make Us Sick?," IZA Discussion Papers 9088, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Guven, Cahit & Yuan, Haishan & Zhang, Quanda & Aksakalli, Vural, 2021. "When does daylight saving time save electricity? Weather and air-conditioning," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Jin, Lawrence & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2020. "Sleep, health, and human capital: Evidence from daylight saving time," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 174-192.
    4. Jin, L. & Ziebarth, N.R., 2015. "Sleep and Human Capital: Evidence from Daylight Saving Time," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 15/27, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    5. Herber, Stefanie P. & Quis, Johanna Sophie & Heineck, Guido, 2017. "Does the transition into daylight saving time affect students’ performance?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 130-139.
    6. Jonathan James, 2023. "Let there be light: Daylight saving time and road traffic collisions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(3), pages 523-545, July.
    7. Christian Bünnings & Valentin Schiele, 2021. "Spring Forward, Don't Fall Back: The Effect of Daylight Saving Time on Road Safety," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(1), pages 165-176, March.
    8. Nower, Michael, 2024. "Losing sleep at the international market: Daylight Saving Time and exchange rates," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    9. Tomas Havranek & Dominik Herman & Zuzana Irsova, 2018. "Does Daylight Saving Save Electricity? A Meta-Analysis," The Energy Journal, , vol. 39(2), pages 35-61, March.
    10. Tanaka, Shinsuke & Koizumi, Hideto, 2024. "Springing forward and falling back on health: The effects of daylight saving time on acute myocardial infarction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    11. Roberto Gillmore, 2025. "Daylight Saving Time and Automobile Accidents: Evidence From Chile," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(5), pages 880-931, May.
    12. Bircan, Çağatay & Wirsching, Elisa, 2023. "Daylight saving all year round? Evidence from a national experiment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    13. Eric Jonathon Osborne‐Christenson, 2022. "Saving light, losing lives: How daylight saving time impacts deaths from suicide and substance abuse," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 40-68, October.
    14. Adi Eleonor TRIFU & Adriana GIRNEATA & Mãdãlina POTCOVARU, 2014. "Influence of Natural Factors upon the Organization Activities," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(4), pages 487-496, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Daylight Savings Time; Time use; Energy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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