American Consumption Patterns and the Price of Time: A Time‐Series Analysis

Abstract

National aggregate time series data on the components of Personal Consumption Expenditures from 1955 to 1984 were used to analyze the roles played by male and female wage rates in altering American consumption patterns. Male nonmarket time was found to be a substitute for all goods and services categories except Automobiles and Parts. Female nonmarket time was found to be a net complement of Automobiles and Parts, Furniture and Household Equipment, Other Durables, Gasoline and Oil, Electricity and Natural Gas, Other Household Operations, and Transportation Services and a net substitute for all other goods and services.