Home Production and Leisure during the COVID-19 Recession

Oksana Leukhina; Zhixiu Yu

doi:10.1515/bejm-2020-0271

Published by De Gruyter April 26, 2021

Home Production and Leisure during the COVID-19 Recession

Oksana Leukhina and Zhixiu Yu

From the journal The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics

https://doi.org/10.1515/bejm-2020-0271

Showing a limited preview of this publication:

Abstract

Between the months of February and April of 2020, average weekly market hours in the U.S. dropped by 6.25, meanwhile 36% of workers reported switching to remote work arrangements. In this paper, we examine implications of these changes for the time allocation of different households, and on aggregate. We estimate that home production activity increased by 2.65 h a week, or 42.4% of lost market hours, due to the drop in market work and rise in remote work. The monthly value of home production increased by $39.65 billion – that is 13.55% of the concurrent $292.61 billion drop in monthly GDP. Although market hours declined the most for single, less educated individuals, the lost market hours were absorbed into home production the most by married individuals with children. Adding on the impact of school closures, our estimate of weekly home production hours increases by as much as 4.92 h. The increase in the value of monthly home production between February and April updates to $73.57 billion. We also report the estimated impact of labor markets and telecommuting on home production for each month in 2020.

Keywords: shutdown; COVID-19; pandemic; home production; remote work

JEL Classification: D13 (household production); E32 (business cycles); J22 (time allocation and labor supply)

Corresponding author: Oksana Leukhina, Research Division, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA, E-mail: oksana.m.leukhina@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

We thank the research economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis for valuable feedback and Devin Werner for valuable research assistance.

Appendix

Table 4:

Market hours during 2020.

Household type	Level	Change in market hours relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Single men
No kids, no college degree	23.60	−1.63	−7.32	−5.62	−3.37	−2.27	−1.73	−1.71	−1.07	−1.93	−2.09
	37.52	−0.47	−0.72	−0.57	−0.07	0.05	0.41	0.27	0.13	−0.14	−0.04
No kids, college degree	34.47	−1.10	−6.30	−4.86	−5.04	−4.80	−3.66	−3.40	−2.26	−2.55	−2.36
	41.51	−0.55	−1.32	−0.94	−0.94	−0.62	−0.51	−0.64	−0.77	−0.70	−0.31
Kids, no college degree	29.82	−0.69	−7.84	−5.01	−2.04	−0.68	−0.30	−0.69	−0.15	0.16	0.13
	41.09	−0.61	−2.08	−1.14	−0.35	0.27	0.43	0.35	0.27	0.21	0.35
Kids, college degree	35.91	−0.94	−5.74	−1.40	−2.72	−2.39	−3.12	−2.24	−3.26	−2.47	−0.01
	42.79	0.32	−1.16	−0.03	−1.22	−0.23	−0.39	−0.18	0.04	−0.68	0.42
Single women
No kids, no college degree	19.89	−1.08	−7.09	−5.36	−3.11	−2.47	−2.35	−2.38	−1.85	−1.96	−1.69
	34.02	0.01	−0.27	−0.15	−0.05	0.10	0.28	0.02	−0.25	−0.16	0.17
No kids, college degree	32.64	−1.76	−6.10	−6.12	−5.51	−7.04	−5.17	−3.40	−1.86	−2.71	−1.83
	39.82	−0.32	−1.17	−1.27	−0.76	−1.17	−0.85	−0.67	−0.48	−0.99	−0.43
Kids, no college degree	24.26	−1.23	−7.82	−6.40	−5.10	−4.92	−3.30	−3.22	−2.21	−1.48	−1.92
	36.95	−0.44	−1.12	−1.00	−0.50	−0.88	−0.43	−0.34	−0.24	−0.03	0.02
Kids, college degree	33.72	−0.54	−6.29	−6.08	−5.64	−5.54	−3.88	−2.22	−2.28	−3.50	−2.88
	39.90	0.20	−1.33	−1.14	−0.98	−1.01	−0.18	−0.24	−0.29	−0.84	0.00

Table 4:

(continued)

Household type	Level	Change in market hours relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Married men with working spouse
No kids, no college degree	34.18	−0.27	−5.74	−3.52	−2.48	−0.86	−0.46	−0.79	−0.38	−1.48	−1.32
	42.11	0.09	−0.91	−0.43	−0.13	0.49	0.82	0.50	0.17	−0.58	−0.29
No kids, college degree	39.01	0.25	−3.26	−2.81	−4.10	−3.43	−3.10	−1.98	−0.68	−1.35	−0.67
	42.82	0.04	−0.63	−0.58	−1.27	−0.96	−0.84	−0.45	−0.04	−0.36	−0.10
Kids, no college degree	37.53	−0.66	−5.75	−4.00	−2.72	−2.30	−1.62	−1.53	−1.43	−2.00	−1.84
	43.00	−0.50	−1.56	−0.95	−0.55	−0.39	−0.19	−0.22	−0.25	−0.64	−0.53
Kids, college degree	40.87	−0.80	−4.19	−2.78	−2.85	−3.06	−1.69	−1.36	−1.29	−1.35	−1.29
	43.33	−0.31	−1.62	−1.26	−1.01	−0.94	−0.31	−0.26	−0.20	−0.54	−0.44
Married men with non-working spouse
No kids, no college degree	24.06	−0.85	−4.64	−3.33	−2.03	−1.69	−1.19	−0.63	−0.07	−0.98	−1.76
	41.67	−0.05	−1.39	−0.89	−0.34	−0.13	0.15	0.03	−0.09	−0.17	−0.34
No kids, college degree	29.11	−1.04	−3.00	−3.25	−2.57	−3.59	−1.26	−0.96	−0.75	−1.37	−2.20
	43.37	−0.64	−1.28	−1.28	−0.58	−1.32	−0.66	−0.72	−0.78	−1.70	−0.51
Kids, no college degree	35.13	−2.37	−9.61	−7.11	−4.66	−4.30	−3.83	−2.34	−2.72	−2.71	−3.63
	42.58	−0.67	−1.81	−1.40	−1.05	−0.25	−0.61	−0.57	−0.52	−0.63	−0.58
Kids, college degree	39.57	−1.78	−5.15	−3.98	−2.44	−5.30	−3.74	−1.80	−1.76	−1.66	−1.59
	44.68	−1.04	−1.70	−1.55	−0.99	−1.36	−1.54	−1.42	−1.30	−1.34	−1.33

Table 4:

(continued)

Household type	Level	Change in market hours relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Married women
No kids, no college degree	21.49	−0.46	−5.34	−4.81	−3.18	−3.12	−2.07	−1.68	−1.32	−1.54	−1.66
	36.54	0.23	−0.16	−0.28	0.04	0.18	0.26	0.19	0.11	−0.27	0.05
No kids, college degree	28.66	−0.54	−4.26	−2.78	−4.35	−5.51	−3.01	−1.38	−1.10	−0.90	−0.16
	39.24	0.00	−0.56	−0.55	−0.60	−0.98	−0.51	−0.29	−0.07	−0.27	0.37
Kids, no college degree	21.19	−1.26	−6.46	−4.96	−3.26	−3.22	−2.57	−1.82	−1.16	−1.22	−0.87
	36.10	−0.20	−0.64	−0.47	−0.36	−0.32	−0.13	−0.08	−0.03	−0.23	0.18
Kids, college degree	27.92	−0.62	−3.97	−2.78	−4.38	−5.94	−3.56	−1.53	−1.18	−0.81	−0.14
	37.23	0.03	−0.61	−0.29	−0.40	−0.49	−0.34	−0.09	0.17	0.27	0.80

Aggregate	27.96	−1.05	−6.25	−4.77	−3.63	−3.58	−2.52	−1.97	−1.45	−1.73	−1.57
	39.19	−0.21	−0.74	−0.54	−0.32	−0.26	−0.02	−0.06	−0.11	−0.30	0.00

Notes: February average weekly market hours for each group are reported in Column 1. Columns 2–11 contain changes in market hours relative to February, for each month in 2020. Slanted numbers indicate level/changes in the average hours of the employed (the “intensive margin”).
Source: Current Population Survey, authors’ calculations.

Table 5:

Telecommuting during 2020.

Household type	Level	Change in fraction of working remotely relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Single men
No kids, no college degree	0.06	–	0.11	0.10	0.09	0.08	0.07	0.06	0.07	0.07	0.07
No kids, college degree	0.16	–	0.57	0.52	0.47	0.45	0.42	0.40	0.39	0.43	0.42
Kids, no college degree	0.05	–	0.10	0.08	0.09	0.06	0.06	0.05	0.05	0.06	0.06
Kids, college degree	0.24	–	0.52	0.49	0.43	0.39	0.37	0.34	0.34	0.36	0.35
Single women
No kids, no college degree	0.08	–	0.21	0.16	0.15	0.13	0.13	0.11	0.11	0.12	0.11
No kids, college degree	0.16	–	0.64	0.57	0.48	0.46	0.44	0.43	0.44	0.45	0.45
Kids, no college degree	0.06	–	0.22	0.18	0.15	0.13	0.13	0.12	0.12	0.13	0.12
Kids, college degree	0.19	–	0.58	0.54	0.43	0.39	0.41	0.39	0.38	0.43	0.41
Married men with working spouse
No kids, no college degree	0.10	–	0.19	0.14	0.13	0.11	0.08	0.08	0.08	0.10	0.10
No kids, college degree	0.21	–	0.60	0.54	0.46	0.43	0.38	0.41	0.42	0.44	0.45
Kids, no college degree	0.08	–	0.17	0.13	0.11	0.10	0.09	0.08	0.09	0.10	0.09
Kids, college degree	0.20	–	0.63	0.55	0.51	0.47	0.44	0.42	0.42	0.43	0.45

Table 5:

(continued)

Household type	Level	Change in fraction of working remotely relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Married men with non-working spouse
No kids, no college degree	0.09	–	0.15	0.13	0.12	0.12	0.08	0.09	0.11	0.10	0.10
No kids, college degree	0.21	–	0.54	0.51	0.45	0.41	0.41	0.39	0.38	0.41	0.41
Kids, no college degree	0.07	–	0.12	0.12	0.10	0.08	0.07	0.06	0.06	0.08	0.07
Kids, college degree	0.21	–	0.59	0.55	0.50	0.47	0.45	0.43	0.42	0.47	0.45
Married women
No kids, no college degree	0.13	–	0.27	0.24	0.20	0.17	0.15	0.14	0.16	0.17	0.16
No kids, college degree	0.23	–	0.60	0.55	0.46	0.42	0.39	0.38	0.39	0.43	0.43
Kids, no college degree	0.11	–	0.27	0.25	0.18	0.16	0.15	0.15	0.15	0.16	0.15
Kids, college degree	0.25	–	0.63	0.55	0.44	0.43	0.42	0.39	0.40	0.43	0.41

Aggregate	0.129	–	0.360	0.327	0.274	0.247	0.233	0.220	0.224	0.240	0.236

Notes: Column 1 presents the pre-pandemic (February) prevalence of remote work, for each group. These rates are computed as fractions of hours of the employed worked remotely, and based on the 2018–2019 waves of ATUS. Columns 2–11 contain gains in this measure of remote work prevalence relative to February, for each month in 2020. The question regarding telecommuting due to the pandemic was first introduced in CPS in May. Each month, the telecommuting question refers to the four week period whose last week includes the 12th day of that month. We use May CPS to proxy telecommuting in April, June CPS to proxy telecommuting in May and so forth.
Source: American Time Use Survey, Current Population Survey, authors’ calculations.

Table 6:

Home production in 2020: Estimates based on changing market hours.

Household type	Level	Change in home production relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Single men
No kids, no college degree	11.31	0.35	1.56	1.19	0.72	0.48	0.37	0.36	0.23	0.41	0.44
		(0.06)	(0.28)	(0.21)	(0.13)	(0.09)	(0.07)	(0.06)	(0.04)	(0.07)	(0.08)
No kids, college degree	10.83	0.25	1.46	1.13	1.17	1.11	0.85	0.79	0.52	0.59	0.55
		(0.03)	(0.19)	(0.15)	(0.15)	(0.15)	(0.11)	(0.10)	(0.07)	(0.08)	(0.07)
Kids, no college degree	20.94	0.29	3.29	2.10	0.85	0.29	0.13	0.29	0.06	−0.07	−0.06
		(0.03)	(0.34)	(0.22)	(0.09)	(0.03)	(0.01)	(0.03)	(0.01)	(0.01)	(0.01)
Kids, college degree	24.49	0.37	2.27	0.55	1.07	0.94	1.23	0.88	1.29	0.98	0.00
		(0.04)	(0.25)	(0.06)	(0.12)	(0.10)	(0.14)	(0.10)	(0.14)	(0.11)	(0.00)
Single women
No kids, no college degree	16.96	0.13	0.82	0.62	0.36	0.29	0.27	0.28	0.21	0.23	0.20
		(0.04)	(0.26)	(0.19)	(0.11)	(0.09)	(0.09)	(0.09)	(0.07)	(0.07)	(0.06)
No kids, college degree	15.50	0.55	1.91	1.92	1.73	2.20	1.62	1.06	0.58	0.85	0.57
		(0.07)	(0.22)	(0.23)	(0.20)	(0.26)	(0.19)	(0.13)	(0.07)	(0.10)	(0.07)
Kids, no college degree	33.10	0.46	2.93	2.39	1.91	1.84	1.23	1.21	0.83	0.55	0.72
		(0.06)	(0.38)	(0.31)	(0.25)	(0.24)	(0.16)	(0.16)	(0.11)	(0.07)	(0.09)
Kids, college degree	31.43	0.19	2.23	2.16	2.00	1.97	1.38	0.79	0.81	1.24	1.02
		(0.03)	(0.32)	(0.31)	(0.29)	(0.28)	(0.20)	(0.11)	(0.12)	(0.18)	(0.15)

Table 6:

(continued)

Household type	Level	Change in home production relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Married men with working spouse
No kids, no college degree	16.94	0.10	2.05	1.26	0.89	0.31	0.16	0.28	0.14	0.53	0.47
		(0.01)	(0.23)	(0.14)	(0.10)	(0.04)	(0.02)	(0.03)	(0.02)	(0.06)	(0.05)
No kids, college degree	16.74	−0.09	1.12	0.96	1.41	1.18	1.06	0.68	0.23	0.46	0.23
		(0.01)	(0.10)	(0.09)	(0.13)	(0.11)	(0.10)	(0.06)	(0.02)	(0.04)	(0.02)
Kids, no college degree	23.04	0.20	1.74	1.21	0.82	0.70	0.49	0.46	0.43	0.60	0.56
		(0.02)	(0.18)	(0.13)	(0.09)	(0.07)	(0.05)	(0.05)	(0.05)	(0.06)	(0.06)
Kids, college degree	22.76	0.27	1.41	0.94	0.96	1.03	0.57	0.46	0.44	0.46	0.44
		(0.03)	(0.15)	(0.10)	(0.11)	(0.11)	(0.06)	(0.05)	(0.05)	(0.05)	(0.05)
Married men with non-working spouse
No kids, no college degree	19.00	0.26	1.45	1.04	0.63	0.53	0.37	0.20	0.02	0.30	0.55
		(0.04)	(0.23)	(0.16)	(0.10)	(0.08)	(0.06)	(0.03)	(0.00)	(0.05)	(0.09)
No kids, college degree	17.37	0.39	1.13	1.22	0.97	1.35	0.48	0.36	0.28	0.51	0.83
		(0.05)	(0.14)	(0.15)	(0.12)	(0.16)	(0.06)	(0.04)	(0.03)	(0.06)	(0.10)
Kids, no college degree	17.30	0.78	3.16	2.34	1.53	1.41	1.26	0.77	0.90	0.89	1.19
		(0.12)	(0.49)	(0.37)	(0.24)	(0.22)	(0.20)	(0.12)	(0.14)	(0.14)	(0.19)
Kids, college degree	18.96	0.74	2.13	1.65	1.01	2.20	1.55	0.75	0.73	0.69	0.66
		(0.08)	(0.22)	(0.17)	(0.10)	(0.22)	(0.16)	(0.08)	(0.07)	(0.07)	(0.07)

Table 6:

(continued)

Household type	Level	Change in home production relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Married women
No kids, no college degree	25.23	0.15	1.69	1.53	1.01	0.99	0.66	0.53	0.42	0.49	0.53
		(0.02)	(0.27)	(0.24)	(0.16)	(0.16)	(0.10)	(0.08)	(0.07)	(0.08)	(0.08)
No kids, college degree	22.69	0.20	1.55	1.01	1.58	2.01	1.10	0.50	0.40	0.33	0.06
		(0.02)	(0.16)	(0.10)	(0.16)	(0.21)	(0.11)	(0.05)	(0.04)	(0.03)	(0.01)
Kids, no college degree	40.67	0.66	3.42	2.62	1.72	1.70	1.36	0.96	0.62	0.64	0.46
		(0.05)	(0.28)	(0.21)	(0.14)	(0.14)	(0.11)	(0.08)	(0.05)	(0.05)	(0.04)
Kids, college degree	37.69	0.30	1.91	1.34	2.11	2.86	1.71	0.73	0.57	0.39	0.07
		(0.02)	(0.13)	(0.09)	(0.14)	(0.19)	(0.12)	(0.05)	(0.04)	(0.03)	(0.01)

Aggregate	21.81	0.36	1.88	1.42	1.14	1.19	0.78	0.55	0.42	0.47	0.46
		(0.04)	(0.24)	(0.18)	(0.15)	(0.15)	(0.10)	(0.08)	(0.06)	(0.07)	(0.06)

Notes: In Column 1, we report our pre-pandemic (February) estimate of weekly home production hours. Columns 2–11 contain the estimated change in home production hours relative to February, as predicted by market hours alone (Section 3.3). Standard errors are reported in parenthesis.
Sources: American Time Use Survey, Current Population Survey, authors’ calculations.

Table 7:

Home production in 2020: Estimates based on changing market hours and remote work.

Household type	Level	Change in home production (with working remotely) relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Single men
No kids, no college degree	11.31	0.35	1.79	1.39	0.85	0.58	0.42	0.41	0.30	0.52	0.53
		(0.06)	(0.30)	(0.23)	(0.14)	(0.10)	(0.07)	(0.07)	(0.05)	(0.08)	(0.09)
No kids, college degree	10.83	0.25	2.69	2.25	2.19	2.07	1.75	1.63	1.35	1.51	1.43
		(0.03)	(0.31)	(0.25)	(0.25)	(0.24)	(0.20)	(0.18)	(0.15)	(0.16)	(0.16)
Kids, no college degree	20.94	0.29	3.60	2.30	1.02	0.34	0.17	0.32	0.11	0.01	0.00
		(0.03)	(0.37)	(0.24)	(0.10)	(0.04)	(0.02)	(0.03)	(0.01)	(0.00)	(0.00)
Kids, college degree	24.49	0.37	3.46	1.66	2.07	1.83	2.09	1.67	2.05	1.82	0.78
		(0.04)	(0.36)	(0.17)	(0.21)	(0.19)	(0.22)	(0.17)	(0.22)	(0.19)	(0.07)
Single women
No kids, no college degree	16.96	0.13	1.21	0.92	0.63	0.50	0.47	0.46	0.42	0.45	0.38
		(0.04)	(0.29)	(0.22)	(0.14)	(0.11)	(0.10)	(0.10)	(0.09)	(0.09)	(0.08)
No kids, college degree	15.50	0.55	3.23	3.12	2.73	3.16	2.53	1.95	1.49	1.79	1.51
		(0.07)	(0.35)	(0.34)	(0.30)	(0.35)	(0.28)	(0.21)	(0.15)	(0.19)	(0.16)
Kids, no college degree	33.10	0.46	3.39	2.76	2.19	2.11	1.48	1.42	1.04	0.77	0.92
		(0.06)	(0.43)	(0.35)	(0.28)	(0.27)	(0.19)	(0.18)	(0.13)	(0.09)	(0.11)
Kids, college degree	31.43	0.19	3.47	3.32	2.93	2.82	2.23	1.61	1.62	2.18	1.88
		(0.03)	(0.44)	(0.42)	(0.38)	(0.36)	(0.28)	(0.19)	(0.19)	(0.27)	(0.23)

Table 7:

(continued)

Household type	Level	Change in home production (with working remotely) relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Married men with working spouse
No kids, no college degree	16.94	0.10	2.51	1.58	1.17	0.52	0.31	0.43	0.31	0.78	0.71
		(0.01)	(0.28)	(0.17)	(0.13)	(0.05)	(0.03)	(0.05)	(0.03)	(0.08)	(0.08)
No kids, college degree	16.74	−0.09	2.46	2.19	2.46	2.16	1.95	1.60	1.17	1.46	1.23
		(0.01)	(0.23)	(0.21)	(0.23)	(0.20)	(0.18)	(0.15)	(0.11)	(0.14)	(0.12)
Kids, no college degree	23.04	0.20	2.16	1.52	1.06	0.91	0.68	0.62	0.63	0.83	0.76
		(0.02)	(0.22)	(0.16)	(0.11)	(0.09)	(0.07)	(0.06)	(0.06)	(0.09)	(0.08)
Kids, college degree	22.76	0.27	2.85	2.20	2.13	2.10	1.55	1.39	1.38	1.44	1.45
		(0.03)	(0.29)	(0.22)	(0.22)	(0.21)	(0.16)	(0.14)	(0.14)	(0.14)	(0.14)
Married men with non-working spouse
No kids, no college degree	19.00	0.26	1.87	1.38	0.90	0.79	0.52	0.39	0.25	0.52	0.79
		(0.04)	(0.27)	(0.20)	(0.13)	(0.11)	(0.07)	(0.05)	(0.03)	(0.07)	(0.11)
No kids, college degree	17.37	0.39	2.34	2.36	1.95	2.28	1.39	1.22	1.13	1.46	1.73
		(0.05)	(0.25)	(0.26)	(0.21)	(0.25)	(0.14)	(0.13)	(0.11)	(0.15)	(0.19)
Kids, no college degree	17.30	0.78	3.48	2.64	1.78	1.56	1.42	0.90	1.03	1.05	1.35
		(0.12)	(0.52)	(0.40)	(0.26)	(0.24)	(0.21)	(0.13)	(0.15)	(0.15)	(0.20)
Kids, college degree	18.96	0.74	3.49	2.91	2.14	3.27	2.58	1.73	1.70	1.77	1.68
		(0.08)	(0.34)	(0.29)	(0.21)	(0.32)	(0.25)	(0.17)	(0.17)	(0.17)	(0.16)

Table 7:

(continued)

Household type	Level	Change in home production (with working remotely) relative to February
	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
Married women
No kids, no college degree	25.23	0.15	2.24	2.02	1.41	1.32	0.94	0.80	0.73	0.85	0.84
		(0.02)	(0.32)	(0.29)	(0.20)	(0.19)	(0.13)	(0.11)	(0.10)	(0.11)	(0.11)
No kids, college degree	22.69	0.20	2.78	2.14	2.54	2.90	1.92	1.28	1.20	1.22	0.94
		(0.02)	(0.28)	(0.21)	(0.25)	(0.29)	(0.19)	(0.13)	(0.12)	(0.12)	(0.09)
Kids, no college degree	40.67	0.66	3.95	3.11	2.06	2.02	1.63	1.22	0.89	0.95	0.72
		(0.05)	(0.33)	(0.26)	(0.17)	(0.17)	(0.13)	(0.10)	(0.08)	(0.08)	(0.06)
Kids, college degree	37.69	0.30	3.13	2.42	2.98	3.70	2.53	1.50	1.34	1.21	0.84
		(0.02)	(0.25)	(0.19)	(0.23)	(0.27)	(0.19)	(0.12)	(0.11)	(0.10)	(0.08)

Aggregate	28.21	0.36	2.65	2.10	1.71	1.71	1.26	1.00	0.89	0.99	0.95
		(0.04)	(0.32)	(0.25)	(0.20)	(0.20)	(0.15)	(0.12)	(0.11)	(0.12)	(0.11)

Notes: In Column 1, we report our pre-pandemic (February) estimate of weekly home production hours. Columns 2–11 contain the estimated change in home production hours relative to February, as predicted by market hours and remote work (Section 4). Standard errors are reported in parenthesis.
Source: American Time Use Survey, Current Population Survey, authors’ calculations.

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Received: 2020-12-15

Revised: 2021-04-09

Accepted: 2021-04-09

Published Online: 2021-04-26

Home Production and Leisure during the COVID-19 Recession

Abstract

Acknowledgements

References

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