An Empirical Method for Adjusting Time Use Data in Brazil

Abstract

Compared to other Latin American countries, women in Brazil spend substantially fewer hours on unpaid household services. Also, national data suggest a surprisingly unusual distribution of services by age. We hypothesize that Brazilian time use data are deficient, among other factors, because of the underreporting of direct caregiving activities. We propose a method to adjust PNAD time use data based on the relation between hours allocated to unpaid direct care and indirect care taken from a reference population. The method’s application increases the number of hours spent in unpaid services by up to 60% (women) and 35% (men), depending on age. It also changes the age profiles, making them more consistent with the literature. Adjusted time use data can help researchers look at Brazil’s gendered economy in more detail, measuring the contribution of men and women of different ages for a fraction of the economy invisible from official statistics.