Following early economist Francis Y. Edgeworth's proposal to measure people's hedonic experiences as they go about their daily lives, we use a smartphone app that surveyed a panel of 30; 928 individuals UK-wide over seven years (N = 2; 234; 753) at random moments about their feelings and activities, in order to estimate the value of time (V OT), a key input into cost-bene t analyses. Our unique data, which reflect the richness of people's lives, allow us to provide average and heterogeneous V OTs for 42 daily activities, including their interactions (multi-tasking), pertaining to both labour and leisure. We are the first to apply this method, which has the potential to value other intangibles too.

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12 July 2023     Paper Number CEPDP1932

Download PDF - Back to Edgeworth? Estimating the value of time using hedonic experiences

This CEP discussion paper is published under the centre's Community Wellbeing programme.