Abstract

Household production of leisure commodities is the combination of goods and time. Despite the fact that the traditional decreasing trend in working hours is slowing down, the expenditure for leisure time represents a high percentage of the household budget. This results from the analysis carried in the «Household Budget Survey» of Eurostat. Nevertheless, consumption behaviour is changing toward schemes that allow the consumer to optimise the allocation of time. Figures reveal a high percentage of time-sensitive goods and services expenditures such us package holidays, hotels, restaurants, books and in-house durables for audiovisual and information equipment. The analysis tries also to estimate the relationship between socio-economic variables and the consumption of leisure time such as the employment status, the age and the annual earnings of the householder. The figures show that consumption changes slightly between socio-economic classes in the northern and central Europe countries.