time use statistics workshop for arabic speaking countries 25 – 28 april 2011, amman, jordan...

Time Use Statistics Workshop for Arabic Speaking Countries25 – 28 April 2011, Amman, Jordan

Classification of Time Use Activities

United Nations Statistics Division

Srdjan Mrkić, Chief, Social Statistics


Starting point – still relevant and fitting

Developed by Dagfinn Ås (1978) based on ideas of V.D. Patruchev – all activities are either:

Necessary time – basic psychological needs Explicitly contracted time – gainful employment and

school attendance Committed time – obligated, but a substituted service

can be purchased Free time – remaining time after the first three are

accounted for


Developments of official statistics

Economic statistics – systematic development – impact on time use activities

Social statistics – more fragmented, yet adapted to quantify social phenomena

In the context of social statistics, time use surveys experienced significant development in both developing and developed countries - in developing countries, primary concern related to gender issues


United Nations Statistics Division

Part of the United Nations Secretariat, specifically the Department for Economic and Social Affairs

Reports to the United Nations Statistics Commission 142 Chief Statisticians, latest session in 2011

UNSD Mandate Develop methodological standards for official statistics Collect, process and disseminate statistics Technical cooperation

Under the first part of the mandate, in the context of the Beijing Platform for action, in mid-1990’s Developed the trial International Classification of Time Use

- ICATUS


Provide a set of activity categories for producing statistics on time use

Suitable at national level, provides comparability at regional and international levels

Serve as standard activity classification consistent with existing standard classifications in labor and economic statistics

ICATUS - Purpose


Flexible – meeting different needs of users of time use statistics

Balanced and comprehensive coverage of activities (productive <-> personal, formal <-> informal …)

Detailed enough do distinguish activities of particular sub-populations (young, elderly, women …)

Harmonized with previous and existing statistical classifications at national and international level

Design principles


ICATUS - designed to distinguish productive and non-productive activities on the basis of general production boundary: A productive activity is the one that can be delegated to another

person and yield the same result

General production boundary - broader than the SNA production boundary – includes non-SNA production

Non-productive (personal) activities – cannot be delegated

Concept


Activities within the SNA production boundary – “SNA work” activities (five major divisions)

Activities outside the SNA production boundary but within the general production boundary – “non-SNA work” activities (three major divisions)

Activities that are non productive – personal activities (seven major divisions)

Main categories


Work for corporations/quasi corporations, non-profit institutions and government (formal sector)

Work for household in primary production activities

Work for household in non-primary production activities

Work for household in construction activities

Work for household providing services for income

Five “SNA work activities” major divisions


Three “Non SNA work activities” major divisions

Providing unpaid domestic services for own final use within household

Providing unpaid care giving services to household members

Providing community services and help to other households


Seven “Personal activities” major divisions

Learning Socializing and community participation Attending/visiting cultural, entertainment and sports

events/venues Hobbies, games and other pastime activities Indoor and outdoor sports participation and related

activities Mass media Personal care and maintenance


Quick summaryProductive activities Non-productive

(personal)Within SNA productive

boundaryOutside SNA

productive boundary

01 Employment in the formal sector

06 Household – services for own use

09 Learning

02 Household – production of primary goods

07 Household – unpaid care

10 Socializing

03 Household – production of non-primary of goods

08 Household – volunteer work

11 Cultural, entertainment

04 Household – Construction 12 Hobbies, games

05 Household – services for income

13 Sports

14 Mass media

15 Personal care


Hierarchical structure

15

54 divisionsthree-digit code

92 groupsfour-digit code

200 classesfive-digit code

363 sub-classessix-digit code

15 major divisionstwo-digit code


ICATUS implementation – implication for TUS

Implementing ICATUS has implications for the design of the survey instrument, since the questions, among other topics, should provide answers to: What was the activity? The purpose of the activity, enabling to distinguish between

formal, informal and unpaid work (example of cooking)


Fitting in a different framework

Necessary time

Contracted time Committed time Free time

15 Personal care

01 Formal employment

06 Household – services for own use

10 Socializing

02 Household – primary production of goods

07 Household – unpaid care

11 Cultural, entertainment

03 Household – non-primary production of goods

08 Household – volunteer work

12 Hobbies, games

04 Household – Construction

13 Sports

05 Household – services for income

14 Mass media

09 Learning


Time Use Surveys in Developed countries

Focus on many topics beside gender Economic – unpaid work Energy consumption Leisure and recreation Culture and identity Paid work Knowledge and skills Standard of living Older people Youth Children Health


Harmonized European Time Use Surveys

HETUS – Harmonized European Time Use Surveys – launched in 2000

Main activity “What did you do?” Parallel or secondary activity: ”Did you do anything else? If

so, what?” Who with: “Were you alone or together with somebody you

know, if so, who?” Where: Location or mode of transport.


HETUS

HETUS Ten basic groups of activities

Personal care Employment Study Household and family care Voluntary work and meetings Social life and entertainment Sports and outdoor activities Hobbies and computing Mass media Travel and unspecified time use


ICATUS and HETUS

ICATUS classifies activities that could conceptually fall ICATUS classifies activities that could conceptually fall under either SNA or non-SNA work as SNA work; some under either SNA or non-SNA work as SNA work; some of these activities are classified as non-SNA work in of these activities are classified as non-SNA work in Eurostat and placed under “Household and family Eurostat and placed under “Household and family care”,care”, Collecting water and gathering firewoodCollecting water and gathering firewood Preserving and baking for household consumptionPreserving and baking for household consumption Producing handicraft and textilesProducing handicraft and textiles GardeningGardening Tending domestic animalsTending domestic animals

““Hunting and fishing, picking berries, mushrooms and Hunting and fishing, picking berries, mushrooms and herbs” are classified under SNA work in ICATUS but as herbs” are classified under SNA work in ICATUS but as “productive exercise” under “Sports and outdoor “productive exercise” under “Sports and outdoor activities” in Eurostatactivities” in Eurostat


Time Use Surveys – Contemporary Status and Issues

Time Use surveys – gaining momentum in both Time Use surveys – gaining momentum in both developing and developed countriesdeveloping and developed countries A number of events in developing countriesA number of events in developing countries Pressure from gender sectorPressure from gender sector Development of gender statisticsDevelopment of gender statistics

Global Forum on Gender StatisticsGlobal Forum on Gender Statistics Increased pressure for more accurate indicatorsIncreased pressure for more accurate indicators

Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi ReportStiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Report


Back to the starting questions

How close are we at adopting a universal classification of time use activities? ICATUS is used directly or with adaptations in many

developing countries ICATUS needs to be reviewed based on these experiences

and finalized While it may not be possible and feasible having only one

international classification, certainly need correspondence tables

Current momentum provides best opportunity to date for such a push


Back to the starting questions

Obstacles and difficulties? Certainly, world is not homogenous

Lessons learned? Many and the process is still on-going

How to proceed? Finalize ICATUS Initiate a World Programme on Time Use Surveys that will be launched

by the United Nations Statistical Commission and would call for conducting harmonized time use surveys at regular intervals in each country

time use statistics workshop for arabic speaking countries 25 – 28 april 2011, amman, jordan...

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