Time Is Money: Investigating the Value of Leisure Time and Unpaid Work

Objectives: Lost unpaid work and leisure time of patients due to ill health often are not included in economic evaluations, even in those taking a societal perspective. This study investigated the monetary value of unpaid work and leisure time to enable the inclusion of patient time in economic evaluations.

Methods: A contingent valuation study was performed to derive monetary values of unpaid work and leisure time. Data were collected with an online survey among a representative sample of people 18 years and older in the Netherlands in terms of age, sex, and educational level in January 2014 (n = 316). Willingness-to-accept (WTA) and willingness-to-pay (WTP) values were analyzed with a two-part model. First, a logistic regression model investigated the willingness to trade in the WTA/WTP tasks. Second, a log-transformed ordinary least squares regression model analyzed the level of positive WTA and WTP values.

Results: The average WTA value for unpaid work was €15.83, and the average WTA value for leisure time was €15.86. The mean WTP value for leisure time was €9.37 when traded against unpaid work, and €9.56 when traded against paid work. Differences in monetary values of unpaid work and leisure time were partly explained by respondents' income, educational level, age, and household composition.

Conclusions: Researchers can adhere to the societal perspective by also including the value of hours of lost unpaid work and leisure time in economic evaluations. As a first indication of its value, we suggest applying the WTA value of €16.