IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pubeco/v255y2026ics0047272726000186.html

Household production time and inequality in material living standards in the U.S., 1965–2018

Author

Listed:
  • Gautham, Leila
  • Folbre, Nancy

Abstract

We study how unpaid household production shapes trends in inequality in material living standards in the U.S. in the last five decades. We construct extended income and consumption measures that add the imputed value of household production to standard market concepts. Extended income and consumption are consistently more equal than their market counterparts. The imputed value of time devoted to household production has fallen considerably, with proportionately larger impacts on money-poor households. Inequality in extended measures has therefore risen more than for market income and consumption. In other words, the degree to which household production buffers inequality in market resources has fallen over time. This analysis applies a lower-bound replacement cost value to hours of time reported in household production and is robust to the use of different valuation and equivalence scales.

Suggested Citation

  • Gautham, Leila & Folbre, Nancy, 2026. "Household production time and inequality in material living standards in the U.S., 1965–2018," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:255:y:2026:i:c:s0047272726000186
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105582
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272726000186
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105582?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan Heathcote & Fabrizio Perri & Giovanni L. Violante, 2010. "Unequal We Stand: An Empirical Analysis of Economic Inequality in the United States: 1967-2006," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 13(1), pages 15-51, January.
    2. Benjamin Bridgman & Andrew Craig & Danit Kanal, 2022. "Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts," Survey of Current Business, Bureau of Economic Analysis, vol. 102(2), pages 1-3, February.
    3. Ying’ai Piao & Meiru Li & Hongyuan Sun & Ying Yang, 2023. "Income Inequality, Household Debt, and Consumption Growth in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, February.
    4. Chan, Kenneth S. & Dang, Vinh Q.T. & Li, Tingting & So, Jacky Y.C., 2016. "Under-consumption, trade surplus, and income inequality in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 241-256.
    5. Christopher House & John Laitner & Dmitriy Stolyarov, 2008. "Valuing Lost Home Production Of Dual Earner Couples," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(2), pages 701-736, May.
    6. Jeehoon Han & Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2021. "The Consumption, Income, and Well-Being of Single mother–headed Families 25 Years After Welfare Reform," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(3), pages 791-824.
    7. Clem Aeppli & Nathan Wilmers, 2022. "Rapid wage growth at the bottom has offset rising US inequality," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119(42), pages 2204305119-, October.
    8. Mark Aguiar & Mark Bils, 2015. "Has Consumption Inequality Mirrored Income Inequality?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(9), pages 2725-2756, September.
    9. Jacob Bastian & Lance Lochner, 2022. "The Earned Income Tax Credit and Maternal Time Use: More Time Working and Less Time with Kids?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(3), pages 573-611.
    10. Mark Aguiar & Erik Hurst, 2007. "Measuring Trends in Leisure: The Allocation of Time Over Five Decades," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 969-1006.
    11. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "Distributional National Accounts: Methods and Estimates for the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(2), pages 553-609.
    12. Jeff Larrimore, 2014. "Accounting for United States Household Income Inequality Trends: The Changing Importance of Household Structure and Male and Female Labor Earnings Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(4), pages 683-701, December.
    13. Dennis Fixler & David S. Johnson, 2014. "Accounting for the Distribution of Income in the U.S. National Accounts," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Economic Sustainability and Progress, pages 213-244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Jonathan Fisher & David S. Johnson & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2015. "Inequality of Income and Consumption in the U.S.: Measuring the Trends in Inequality from 1984 to 2011 for the Same Individuals," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(4), pages 630-650, December.
    15. Paula England & Andrew Levine & Emma Mishel, 2020. "Progress toward gender equality in the United States has slowed or stalled," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(13), pages 6990-6997, March.
    16. Jacob Bastian, 2020. "The Rise of Working Mothers and the 1975 Earned Income Tax Credit," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 44-75, August.
    17. Jooyeoun Suh & Nancy Folbre, 2016. "Valuing Unpaid Child Care in the U.S.: A Prototype Satellite Account Using the American Time Use Survey," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 668-684, December.
    18. Blundell, Richard & Joyce, Robert & Norris Keiller, Agnes & Ziliak, James P., 2018. "Income inequality and the labour market in Britain and the US," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 48-62.
    19. Cathleen Zick & W. Bryant & Sivithee Srisukhumbowornchai, 2008. "Does housework matter anymore? The shifting impact of housework on economic inequality," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-28, March.
    20. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Melissa S. Kearney, 2006. "The Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 189-194, May.
    21. Mark Aguiar & Erik Hurst, 2005. "Consumption versus Expenditure," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(5), pages 919-948, October.
    22. Han, Jeehoon & Meyer, Bruce D. & Sullivan, James X., 2020. "Inequality in the joint distribution of consumption and time use," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    23. Benjamin Bridgman & Andrew Craig & Danit Kanal, 2022. "Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts," Survey of Current Business, Bureau of Economic Analysis, February.
    24. Jim Been & Susann Rohwedder & Michael Hurd, 2020. "Does Home Production Replace Consumption Spending? Evidence from Shocks in Housing Wealth in the Great Recession," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(1), pages 113-128, March.
    25. Harley Frazis & Jay Stewart, 2011. "How does household production affect measured income inequality?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(1), pages 3-22, January.
    26. Kimberly Fisher & Muriel Egerton & Jonathan Gershuny & John Robinson, 2007. "Gender Convergence in the American Heritage Time use Study (AHTUS)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 1-33, May.
    27. Sarah Flood & Joel McMurry & Aaron Sojourner & Matthew Wiswall, 2022. "Inequality in Early Care Experienced by US Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 199-222, Spring.
    28. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:273-304 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2023. "Consumption and Income Inequality in the United States since the 1960s," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(2), pages 247-284.
    30. Edward N. Wolff & Ajit Zacharias, 2007. "The Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being United States, 1989-2001," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 443-470, Fall.
    31. Stephen P. Jenkins & Nigel C. O'Leary, 1996. "Household Income Plus Household Production: The Distribution Of Extended Income In The U.K," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 42(4), pages 401-419, December.
    32. Nancy Folbre & Marta Murray-Close & Jooyeoun Suh, 2018. "Equivalence scales for extended income in the U.S," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 189-227, June.
    33. repec:bla:revinw:v:42:y:1996:i:4:p:401-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Clem Aeppli & Nathan Wilmers, 2022. "Rapid wage growth at the bottom has offset rising US inequality," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 119(42), pages 2204305119-, October.
    35. Paul Schreyer & W. Erwin Diewert, 2014. "Household Production, Leisure, and Living Standards," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Economic Sustainability and Progress, pages 89-114, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    36. Richard Blundell & Luigi Pistaferri & Itay Saporta-Eksten, 2016. "Consumption Inequality and Family Labor Supply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(2), pages 387-435, February.
    37. Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2008. "Changes in the Consumption, Income, and Well-Being of Single Mother Headed Families," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 2221-2241, December.
    38. Jooyeoun Suh, 2016. "Measuring the “Sandwich”: Care for Children and Adults in the American Time Use Survey 2003–2012," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 197-211, June.
    39. Orazio P. Attanasio & Luigi Pistaferri, 2016. "Consumption Inequality," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 3-28, Spring.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jonathan Heathcote & Fabrizio Perri & Giovanni Violante & Lichen Zhang, 2023. "More Unequal We Stand? Inequality Dynamics in the United States, 1967–2021," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 50, pages 235-266, October.
    2. Hembre, Erik & Collins, J. Michael & Wylde, Samuel, 2024. "A rising tide lifts all homes? Housing consumption trends for low-income households since the 1980s," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    3. Job Boerma & Loukas Karabarbounis, 2021. "Inferring Inequality With Home Production," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(5), pages 2517-2556, September.
    4. Nancy Folbre, 2024. "Care Data Infrastructure: A U.S. Case Study," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 70(1), pages 239-250, March.
    5. Bridgman, Benjamin & Duernecker, Georg & Herrendorf, Berthold, 2018. "Structural transformation, marketization, and household production around the world," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 102-126.
    6. Utkarsh Anand & Xin Liu, 2026. "Distributional Decomposition of Consumption Inequality Change During COVID-19," Papers 2605.17100, arXiv.org.
    7. Ferrer, Ana M. & González, Francisco M. & Nesterova, Iuliia, 2024. "Conspicuous consumption and visible inequality," CLEF Working Paper Series 81, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    8. Binhui Wei & Chunkai Zhao & Mingzhong Luo & Zhimin Jia & Hailong Xia, 2024. "Beyond the scenery: Understanding the impact of rural tourism development on household consumption in China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 1152-1191, August.
    9. Yu, Jian & Shi, Xunpeng & Cheong, Tsun Se, 2021. "Distribution dynamics of China's household consumption upgrading," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 193-203.
    10. Boerma, Job & Karabarbounis, Loukas, 2020. "Labor market trends and the changing value of time," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    11. Lichner, Ivan & Lyócsa, Štefan & Výrostová, Eva, 2022. "Nominal and discretionary household income convergence: The effect of a crisis in a small open economy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 18-31.
    12. Leila Gautham & Clemens Hetschko & Peter Howley, 2025. "Not All Leisure Is Created Equal: Income-Induced Constraints on the Enjoyment of Leisure," CESifo Working Paper Series 12169, CESifo.
    13. Han, Jeehoon & Meyer, Bruce D. & Sullivan, James X., 2020. "Inequality in the joint distribution of consumption and time use," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    14. repec:cam:camjip:2507 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Pretnar, Nick, 2022. "Measuring Inequality with Consumption Time," MPRA Paper 118168, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. De Giorgi, Giacomo & Gambetti, Luca & Naguib, Costanza, 2020. "Life-Cycle Inequality: Blacks And Whites Differentials In Life Expectancy, Savings, Income, And Consumption," CEPR Discussion Papers 15182, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    17. Silvia Emili & Federica Galli, 2022. "Self-perceptions and perceptions of peers: their role in understanding expenditure behaviours," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4573-4597, December.
    18. Xinhua Gu & ChunKwok Lei & Li Sheng & Qingbin Zhao, 2021. "Global current account imbalances and the link between income and consumption inequality," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 557-572, August.
    19. Buda, Gergely & Carvalho, Vasco & Hansen, Stephen & Ortiz, Alvaro & Rodrigo, Tomasa & Rodríguez Mora, José V, 2022. "National Accounts in a World of Naturally Occurring Data: A Proof of Concept for Consumption," CEPR Discussion Papers 17519, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    20. Choonsung Park, 2020. "Consumption, Reservation Wages, and Aggregate Labor Supply," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 37, pages 54-80, July.
    21. Brant Abbott & Giovanni Gallipoli, 2018. "Human Capital Inequality: Empirical Evidence," Working Papers 2018-085, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:255:y:2026:i:c:s0047272726000186. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505578 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.