Exploratory Analysis of the Activity Time-Use Frontier and Its Effect on Episodic Well-Being: Data from the Disability and Use of Time Survey

The role of time (as a constrained resource) in terms of budgets and expenditures is of great importance in travel behavior analysis within the context of daily activity engagement choices, emotional well-being, and quality of life. This research investigated the behavioral links between activity time budgets and episodic well-being measures in a two-stage process, using data from the 2009 Disability and Use of Time Survey. First, with the use of the episodic-level data, time budgets were formulated with the use of a stochastic frontier modeling approach. The technical inefficiency measure that represented the degree to which an individual expended his or her time (or an upper bound of the time budget) in activity engagement was also derived. Second, with the use of this measure of technical inefficiency, the effects on reported individuals’ episodic well-being measures were further investigated. The indicators of well-being—happiness, calmness, frustration, sadness, worry, tiredness, and pain—were analyzed with a multivariate ordered probit modeling framework. The models were estimated by controlling for a broad array of covariates related to sociodemographics, activity, and travel characteristics, along with the social contexts of companionship and altruism and global well-being indicators. Empirical results suggested that individuals experienced varying levels of positive and negative emotions from their daily activity time-use patterns, in both efficient and inefficient episodes. Productive episodes (e.g., working and volunteering) with higher time budgets (or inefficiencies) increased the likelihood of individuals experiencing higher levels of negative emotions. The model findings also revealed that high-income households and individuals younger than 65 years old with inefficient time-use patterns exhibited lower levels of happiness and calmness.