Measuring time poverty and its relation with well-being
Using original 2024 survey data from Japan, complemented with official time-use statistics, this study develops and evaluates alternative measures of time poverty. For housework, a subjective minimum necessary housework (SMH) threshold is estimated from survey responses under a zero-outsourcing assumption, following methods for subjective income poverty lines. For leisure, a relative cutoff tied to the population average is used to avoid socially implausible low thresholds. Four models are examined: a Relative Time Poverty (RTP) model, an Absolute Time Poverty (ATP) model, an SMH model, and an SMH with Relative Leisure (SMH-RL) model. After computing time-poverty status, probit models describe who is classified as time poor under each specification. Construct validity is assessed by relating time-poverty status to multiple well-being indicators (leisure satisfaction, life satisfaction, weekday–weekend sleep gap, diet quality), and relative validity is tested using cross-model classification contrasts. Results show large variation in incidence across models and indicate that ATP likely overclassifies time poverty, while RTP tends to flag low leisure even when driven by longer sleep, personal care, or housework. The SMH-RL specification aligns most consistently with poorer well-being. The study offers a practicable approach to defining time poverty that better reflects physiological and social needs and informs policy design.
