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Abstract
This paper introduces and applies the functional time use (FTU) analysis towards understanding inequalities in a developing country context and the relevant relationships among the use of time, gendered divisions of labor, and the household economy. In so doing, it proposes one way of approaching time poverty, a concept increasingly used in the development literature. An empirical study from the Tsimane' village of Campo Bello, a remote indigenous community in the Bolivian Amazon, provides an analysis of the people's daily time use with a special interest in their use of labor time. The findings illustrate a heavier overall labor burden on the female population across all age groups. The paper also argues for FTU analysis as tool for gender-sensitive analysis that has the potential to inform the work of development practitioners.
INTRODUCTION
Inequality is a major challenge to development. It may take different forms, from income inequality, restricted social, economic, and political rights, to unequal access to and control over property and resources. These forms often have intrinsic gender dimensions. One form of inequality that has received substantially less attention in the development literature is the distribution of time burdens within a population. The application of a time lens can enrich the understanding of poverty and inform poverty alleviation strategies. The allocation of time among men, women, and children in the household and in the economy is indeed a major gender issue in the evolving discourse on time poverty (Charmes 2006, Blackden and Wodon 2006, Kes and Swaminathan 2006).
In broad terms, "time poverty" can be understood as the burden of competing claims on a person's time that constrains his or her ability to choose how individual time resources are allocated. This, in many cases, leads to an increased workload and to trade-offs among various tasks (Kes and Swaminathan 2006: 16). These may be short-term trade-offs between different productive activities, market and household tasks, or between meeting short-term economic and household needs, and long-term investments in future capacities and human capital. The negative impact of these trade-offs can be observed in various dimensions of poverty such as food security, child nutrition, health, and education.
Examining time use in a developing country context is important for at least three interrelated reasons: First, empirical...