National Utility: Measuring the Enjoyment of Activities

This article applies a sociologically informed theoretical perspective on time allocation— assuming that choices are made by actors who are embedded within constrained sequences of daily activity—in empirical estimations of mean and marginal utilities for a comprehensive list of daily activities. It uses data from two time diary surveys, one from the USA and one from the UK, which register the respondents ’ levels of enjoyment of each diary event. Remarkable similarities emerge between the estimates for the two countries. Time use samples from a range of countries and historical periods are compared which suggest the possibility that, despite substantial economic growth during the last third of the 20th century, aggregate National Utility may have actually declined for some groups in some developed countries. ‘‘According to the most widely disseminated theory, [the division of labour] has its origin in man’s unceasing desire to increase his happiness.... Nothing is less evi-dent... there is a maximum of happiness...that cannot be surpassed... In spite of the numerous maladies and evils of all sorts to which the inhabitant of Darfur is exposed, he loves his country, and not only does not emigrate but longs to return if he is in a foreign country’’ ‘ ‘... happiness... does not become greater if activity becomes richer, but is the same wherever it is healthy’’