The Association between Time Poverty and Income Poverty: The Case of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Considering the significance of both time and income in determining the wellbeing of people, this study aims to examine the association between time poverty and income poverty in Sri Lanka by employing the first ever Time Use Survey (TUS) of Sri Lanka, along with the Labour Force Survey (LFS). A descriptive analysis and a binary logistic regression analysis are conducted. The study reveals time poverty in Sri Lanka to be an issue mainly concerning income non-poor people than income poor people, out of which, income non-poor females are found to be more time poor than income non-poor males. Further, that the highest proportion of people in Sri Lanka fall into the scenario of being time poor and income non-poor, followed by those who are both time non-poor and income non-poor (better-off), and those who are both time poor and income poor (worse-off). Finally, a logistic regression of time poverty reveals a significantly negative association between time poverty and income poverty in Sri Lanka, thus reflecting a trade-off between the two. Consistent with existing literature, this finding provides insights on how most people in Sri Lanka escape income poverty only at the cost of incurring time poverty by sacrificing their self-care and leisure time, which is a major issue of concern.