Time use and the life course: a study of key events in the lives of men and women using panel data

Abstract

Links between gender, activity/travel patterns and the life course have become a significant subject of inquiry in recent years. This paper draws upon a previous study that found that key events in the life course had significant effects on the complexity of trip and activity patterns. Some of these effects differed significantly between men and women. The panel data analysis presented here uses descriptive statistics to illustrate more clearly the patterns of time use before and after key events such as the birth of a child, entry into the labour market, or retirement. Further, regression models of time use changes for employed work, out-of-home leisure, escort, and time spent at home are presented. The data used is the German Mobility Panel (GMP) 1994 to 2014 in which households and their members are asked three times in three successive years to report the trips they made over a week. The results show the gendered effects of various key events on change in time use. Key events in partnership and the family affect women's time use more than men's, while for labour market events it is mostly the other way round.