Valuing Changes in Time Use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
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Valuing changes in time use is often a critical element of economic analyses of development projects. In this paper we review the literature on the monetary value of time in low- and middle-income countries and find support for a commonly used benchmark of 50% of after-tax wages for time changes in activities in the informal sector, such as collecting water or traveling to health clinics. We offer recommendations to analysts who are conducting benefit-cost analyses in these settings about what methods they can use to estimate the value of time. These include a benefits transfer approach and also a relatively simple stated preference approach that might be deployed in a specific context if the project recommendation is sensitive to the assumption of the value of time or if the distribution of the benefits of time savings is especially important.
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Providing water on premises is important for overall wellbeing through benefits to quality of life, positive health effects, reduced labour and calorie expenditure, and a potential increase in water quantity for other activities.
“Other research suggests that providing water on premises is important for overall wellbeing90 through benefits to quality of life, such as the ability to reallocate time previously used for water collection to income generation or leisure,91 positive health effects (eg, on musculoskeletal disorders),92 reduced labour and calorie expenditure,93 and a potential increase in water quantity for other”
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Safe access to safe water in low income countries: water fetching in current times
Sorenson, S. B., Morssink, C., & Campos, P. A. (2011) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.010 · Cited by 370 · see citing works
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Wolf, J., Hubbard, S., Brauer, M., Ambelu, A., Arnold, B. F., Bain, R., Bauza, V., Brown, J., Caruso, B. A., Clasen, T., et al. (2022) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)00937-0 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
- Authors
- Whittington, D., & Cook, J.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Washington State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cook, Joseph
- Venue
- Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2018-12-19
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- S1
- Pages
- 51-72
- ISSN
- 2152-2812 (ISSN-L)
- 2194-5888
- PMC
- PMC7473062
- OpenAlex
- W2906255355
- Cited by
- 55
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 6.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1160057)
- University of Pittsburgh
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic and Environmental Valuation
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Keywords
- value of time, time use, low- and middle-income countries, cost-benefit analysis, benefit transfer, stated preference, informal economy, development projects
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