The Falling Time Cost of College: Evidence from Half a Century of Time Use Data

Phillip Babcock and Mindy Marks

University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series from Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara

Abstract: Using multiple datasets from different time periods, we document declines in academic time investment by full-time college students in the United States between 1961 and 2003. Full-time students allocated 40 hours per week toward class and studying in 1961, whereas by 2003 they were investing about 27 hours per week. Declines were extremely broad-based, and are not easily accounted for by framing effects, work or major choices, or compositional changes in students or schools. We conclude that there have been substantial changes over time in the quantity or manner of human capital production on college campuses.

Keywords: time use; human capital; education; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Other Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-03-24
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Falling Time Cost of College: Evidence from Half a Century of Time Use Data (2011)
Working Paper: The Falling Time Cost of College: Evidence from Half a Century of Time Use Data (2010)
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