Time allocation among different sorts of activities: An overview of mathematical models

Abstract

The history of time use research dates back more than 100 years. Russian scientists were among the first to conduct large-scale surveys in this field. Nowadays, this sphere has become interesting among scientists again. Rosstat has rebegun to conduct surveys on the daily time use, large-scale independent surveys have appeared, and media have increased their interest. The amount of empirical microdata that has emerged has made it possible to examine a complex concept as the household time use in ever more numbers. The purpose of this methodological overview is to describe the most significant mathematical models that have been used and are being used to study the time budgets of the population. This article overviews the first models in which time was considered as one of the means of production along with other goods, and households tried to maximize the utility function solely based on financial considerations. Then, modern models, where time is no less an important factor of well-being than material status, are represented. The article demonstrates how the new model classes that have recently emerged adapt to the data that is accessible in certain circumstances, modify themselves to accomplish fresh tasks, and become less costly when looking at analytical estimations. In order to categorize the population’s time budget structure under different research activities, the paper examines and systemsatizes a number of mathematical models