Direct estimates of household production

Using time-diary and expenditure data for a set of American households in 2003 and 2004,1 examine the relation between the inputs into eating: time-food purchasing, preparation, consumption and clean-up, and goods-purchased foods. Goods and time expenditures are positively correlated, and direct estimates of a CES household production function indicate the relative difficulty of goods-time substitution in producing this commodity. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.