Title The Allocation of time to non-market off-farm activities by farm household members in the West

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The Allocation of time to non-market off-farm activities by
Title
farm household members in the West of Ireland
Author(s) Keogh, Sinead
Publication
2014-05-26
Date
Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/4485
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The Allocation of Time
to Non-Market Off-Farm Activities
by Farm Household Members in the West of Ireland

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
by
Sinéad Keogh B.A. M.A.

The Discipline of Economics
J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics
National University of Ireland, Galway

February 2014
Declaration 

I declare that this thesis, submitted to the National University of Ireland, Galway for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) has not been previously submitted as an exercise for
a degree at this or any other University. All research herein is entirely my own.

Signature: Date:

i
Abstract 

Community development and social support systems have evolved uniquely in rural Ireland.
In response to poverty and other historical developments, dense networks of families, friends
and neighbours often formed strong informal social support systems, allocating time to help
each other. Such behaviour is consistent with the ‘meitheal’ tradition, the idea of spirit of
community or connectedness within groups of neighbours, an ethos that is preserved and
safeguarded among farming communities throughout the West of Ireland. Over the past two
decades, evolving farm and trade policies, new technologies and a challenging economic
climate have started to impact on the behaviour and time management decisions of farm
household members in Ireland. Thus, an analysis of the economics of time allocation is
important for understanding how farm family members adjust to these changes and the
implications of these changes on their unique support systems and well-being. Within this
context, this thesis considers the allocation of time to non-market off-farm activities by farm
household members in the West of Ireland. Time allocated to activities such as civic
engagement and volunteering plays an important role in the delivery of socially important
goods and services that seek to improve the well-being of the rural population and promote
rural sustainability. In turn, the social capital generated from such off-farm non-market
activities and the use of leisure time by farm household members is an important dimension
of social well-being, enhancing the health status of the individual. Therefore, the overarching
goal of this thesis is to provide a detailed understanding of how time allocated to non-market
off-farm activities impacts on individual well-being, rural development and sustainability. To
this end, a single-purpose time use diary survey combined with individual and household
questionnaires that collected information on respondents’ background characteristics was
developed, administered and analysed and three specific research objectives addressed. First,
a profile of time and task management of farm family members in the West of Ireland is
presented. Second, the factors that influence the participation in and the number of hours
dedicated to civic engagement, formal and informal volunteering are explored. Third, the
factors that influence the level of participation in active, passive and social entertainment
leisure activities are investigated. Finally, this thesis makes a substantiative methodological
contribution by way of the innovative design of the time use diary which has the potential to
change the way that these types of surveys are conducted.
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Acknowledgements 

I would like to express my gratitude to those who have accompanied me on this journey. First
and foremost, my supervisor, Dr. John Cullinan, who always supported me and without his
encouragement, hard work and dedication this study would not have been completed. The
kind of academic freedom and moral support that he has extended to me is remarkable while
the joy and enthusiasm he has for his research has been contagious and motivational. I
appreciate all his contributions of time and ideas that have made my Ph.D. experience
productive and stimulating. It has been an honour to be his first Ph.D. student and I thank him
wholeheartedly for all his help and support.

It was Dr. Eoghan Garvey, who gave me the opportunity to join the doctoral programme at
NUI Galway. I will forever be in his debt and he will forever be in my thoughts, ar dheis Dé
go raibh sé. I am thankful to Prof. Michael Cuddy, former director of the Irish Centre for
Economic and Rural Sustainability (ICERTS) for his help and guidance throughout the Ph.D
process. I gratefully acknowledge the funding source that made my Ph.D. work possible, the
Higher Education Authority through the Programme for Third Level Institutes. My work was
also supported by the Discipline of Economics. Since my thesis is based on a survey, all of
the farmers and their families who completed a questionnaire also deserve a thank you.

From the Discipline of Economics at NUI Galway, I would like to say a special thank you to
Prof. John McHale, Prof. Eamon O’ Shea and Brendan Kennelly, former Heads of the
Discipline, and Dr. Alan Ahearne, current Head of the Discipline, for their help and guidance.
I would also like to thank Srinivas Raghavendra, Aidan Kane, Stephen Hynes, Eithne
Murphy, Tom van Rensburg and for their inputs and their friendships. I am thankful to
Imelda and Claire for all of their help throughout my time in the Discipline.

A good support system is important to surviving and staying sane through the Ph.D. process.
I will forever be thankful to my friend and mentor Maureen Mescall, without whom, I would
never have pursued a career in research. Maureen, I owe it all to you. I am lucky to have
made friends for life in those who have passed through the ‘Joe room’ during the last five
years. Ben, Brendan, Caroline, Danny, Dinali, Eoin, Kevin, Kieran, Kitty, Michelle, Naoise,
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Niall, Osunde, Peter, Richéal, Sharon, Tom and Trish, we may have worked ‘tooooooooo
hard’ but we got there in the end. I have many fond memories of our time there especially the
many enjoyable lunches in Friars. I enjoyed the debates, the arguments, the slagging, the e-
mail chats and the banter. I especially thank Ger, for all the times we walked it out on the
prom, all the cups of coffee, the nights out, the boxing and the fun times – we finally made it.
To Elaine and my adopted family, the Carrols in Cregmore, you made Galway more of a
home than it ever was before, for that I will be eternally grateful. To my friends who have
accompanied me on my academic journey during the last five years especially Fiona, Olivia
and Silé – thank you for having patience with me. To the Mountain Hares, especially Antoine,
Gerard, Frank, Joe, Martin, Noel and ‘The Dub’, thank you for taking me out on the
mountains, keeping me sane and in shape.

Lastly, I would like to thank my family for all their love and encouragement, without their
support the completion of this study would not have been realised. My mother especially for
her daily phone calls.

To you all,
Go raibh mile maith agat.
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Table of Contents 

Declaration .................................................................................................................................. i 
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii 
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iii 
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iii 
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ vi 
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... ix 
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ......................................................................................... x 
1.  Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 
1.1  Background ................................................................................................................. 1 
1.2  The Agricultural Sector in Ireland .............................................................................. 6 
1.3  Research Objectives and Motivation ......................................................................... 20 
1.4  Structure and Overview of Thesis ............................................................................. 23 
2.  An Economic Framework for Modelling Time Allocation ............................................. 26 
2.1  Introduction ............................................................................................................... 26 
2.2  Unitary Models .......................................................................................................... 27 
2.3  Non-Unitary Models ................................................................................................. 32 
2.4  Choosing a Theoretical Framework .......................................................................... 36 
2.5  Specification of the Theoretical Model ..................................................................... 38 
2.6  Summary ................................................................................................................... 42 
3.  Empirical Studies of Time Use ........................................................................................ 44 
3.1  General Introduction to Time Use ............................................................................. 44 
3.2  Historical Development of Time Use Research ........................................................ 45 
3.3  Methodologies for Collecting Time Use Data .......................................................... 48 
3.4  Time Use Literature: Applications or ‘Fields of Utilisation’ of Time Use Data ...... 59 
3.5  Econometric Analysis of Time Use Data .................................................................. 76 
3.6  Caveats of Time Use Research .................................................................................. 84 
3.7  Reliability and Validity of Time Use Estimates ........................................................ 85 
3.8  Summary ................................................................................................................... 86 
4.  Time Use Survey Methodology ....................................................................................... 88 
4.1  Introduction ............................................................................................................... 88 
4.2  Time Use Diary Design Considerations .................................................................... 89 
4.3  Individual and Household Questionnaires .............................................................. 110 
4.4  Pre-testing and Pilot Survey .................................................................................... 121 
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4.5  Summary ................................................................................................................. 127 
5.  Sample Response Rates and Descriptive Statistics ........................................................ 129 
5.1  Introduction ............................................................................................................. 129 
5.2  Data File Creation, Editing and Coding .................................................................. 129 
5.3  Response Rate ......................................................................................................... 131 
5.4  Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................... 140 
5.5  Summary ................................................................................................................. 148 
6.  The Allocation of Time by Farm Household Members ................................................. 152 
6.1  Introduction ............................................................................................................. 152 
6.2  Methods ................................................................................................................... 153 
6.3  Overall Patterns of Time Use of Farm Household Members .................................. 156 
6.4  Time Use Patterns and Gender ................................................................................ 171 
6.5  Summary and Discussion ........................................................................................ 179 
7.  The Factors Associated with the Allocation of Time by Farm Household Members ... 183 
7.1  Introduction ............................................................................................................. 183 
7.2  Time Use Patterns and Age ..................................................................................... 184 
7.3  Time Use Patterns and Socioeconomic Characteristics .......................................... 189 
7.4  Time Use Patterns and Family Characteristics ....................................................... 198 
7.5  Time Use Patterns, Farm Characteristics and Seasonal Variation .......................... 207 
7.6  Time Use Patterns and Community ........................................................................ 214 
7.7  Summary and Discussion ........................................................................................ 223 
8.  Modelling the Determinants of Participation in Civic Engagement and Voluntary
Activities ................................................................................................................................ 228 
8.1  Introduction ............................................................................................................. 228 
8.2  Literature ................................................................................................................. 231 
8.3  Data and Methods of Analysis ................................................................................ 236 
8.4  Summary Statistics .................................................................................................. 245 
8.5  Results ..................................................................................................................... 252 
8.6  Discussion ............................................................................................................... 280 
9.  Modelling the Determinants of Participation in Leisure Activities ............................... 283 
9.1  Introduction ............................................................................................................. 283 
9.2  Literature ................................................................................................................. 285 
9.3  Methods ................................................................................................................... 288 
9.4  Variables .................................................................................................................. 289 
9.5  Results ..................................................................................................................... 293 
9.6  Discussion ............................................................................................................... 313 
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10.  Summary and Conclusions ........................................................................................ 316 
10.1  Introduction ......................................................................................................... 316 
10.2  Summary of Thesis .............................................................................................. 316 
10.3  Limitations of Research ....................................................................................... 321 
10.4  Avenues for Future Research .............................................................................. 324 
10.5  Policy Related Issues ........................................................................................... 327 
10.6  Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................... 328 
10.7  Thesis Outputs ..................................................................................................... 330 
References .............................................................................................................................. 332 
Appendix A ............................................................................................................................ 371 
Appendix B ............................................................................................................................ 383 
Appendix C ............................................................................................................................ 395 
Appendix D ............................................................................................................................ 399 
v
List of Tables 

Table 2-1 A Comparison of the Main Features of the Various Household Labour Supply
Models...................................................................................................................................... 43 
Table 4-1 Map of the Data Collection Site .............................................................................. 92 
Table 4-2 Complete list of Activity Classification Codes ..................................................... 107 
Table 5-1 Household Level Response Rate ........................................................................... 132 
Table 5-2 Distribution of Weekday Diaries by Day of the Week .......................................... 136 
Table 5-3 Distribution of Weekend Diaries ........................................................................... 136 
Table 5-4 Seasonal Distribution of Diaries ............................................................................ 137 
Table 5-5 Distribution of Usable Diaries Classified According to When Diary was Completed
................................................................................................................................................ 139 
Table 5-6 Problems Encountered in Completing Diaries Among Those Who Experienced a
Problem .................................................................................................................................. 140 
Table 5-7 Occupation Group (Broad Economic Sector) of Off-Farm Employment Participants
................................................................................................................................................ 143 
Table 5-8 Summary of Individual Characteristics ................................................................. 149 
Table 5-9 Summary of Household Characteristics ................................................................ 150 
Table 5-10 Summary of Farm Characteristics ....................................................................... 151 
Table 6-1 Average Daily Duration (hh:mm) of Activities by Gender ................................... 160 
Table 6-2 Average Daily Duration (hh:mm) of Activities by Participants or ‘Doers’ and
Participation Rate ................................................................................................................... 161 
Table 7-1 Average Daily Duration of Activities in Minutes by Age ..................................... 188 
Table 7-2 Average Daily Duration of Activities in Minutes by Highest Level of Education
Completed .............................................................................................................................. 191 
Table 7-3 Average Daily Duration of Activities in Minutes by Total Household Income .... 194 
Table 7-4 Average Daily Duration of Activities in Minutes by Gender and Off-Farm
Employment ........................................................................................................................... 197 
Table 7-5 Average Daily Duration of Activities in Minutes by Gender and Marital Status . 201 
Table 7-6 Average Daily Duration of Activities in Minutes by Gender and Presence of
Children.................................................................................................................................. 205 
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