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Gender differences in time allocation contribute to differences in developmental outcomes in children and adolescents

Using over 50 thousand time-use diaries from two cohorts of children, we document significant gender differences in time allocation in the first 16 years in life. Relative to males, females spend more time on personal care, chores and educational activities and less time on physical and media related activities. These gender gaps in time allocation appear at very young ages and widen overtime.

Citation:
Nguyen HT, Brinkman S, Le HT, Zubrick SR, Mitrou F. Gender differences in time allocation contribute to differences in developmental outcomes in children and adolescents. Economics of Education Review. 2022;89.

Keywords:
Time allocation; time use diary; gender gap; child development

Abstract:
Using over 50 thousand time-use diaries from two cohorts of children, we document significant gender differences in time allocation in the first 16 years in life. Relative to males, females spend more time on personal care, chores and educational activities and less time on physical and media related activities. These gender gaps in time allocation appear at very young ages and widen overtime.