Indira Hirway

Time Use Survey vs SDG 2030 | UPSC

Indira Hirway is Director and Professor of Economics, Center For Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad

• COMMENDABLE EFFORTS : As a survey that has covered the entire country for the first time, the National Statistical Office needs to be complimented for accomplishing the task.
• SIGNIFICANCE : The “Time Use Survey, or TUS, provides a framework for measuring time dispositions by the population on different activities.

TUS DATA | SOURCES : PIB

• MOTIVE : Its primary objective is to measure participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities.

• ROUTINE OBSERVATIONS : It also provides information on time spent on learning, socializing, leisure activities, self-careactivities, etc.,by the household members.
• TIMELINE : The data collection was done for one day — normal or other day in a 24-hour time diary, beginning at 4 a.m. and till 4 a.m. the next day.

• DEPRECIATED TIME SLOTS : In India, where literacy is low, the time diary was filled in by interviewers in 30 minute time slots through face-to-face interviews.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• UN RESOLUTION : The path-breaking Resolution of the 19th International Conference on Labour Statistics,- International Labour Organization has raised focus on TUS..
• COMMITMENT TO SDG : The Government of India is fully committed to the SDGs and has also indicated its inclination to implementing the second.
• DATA INTERPRETATION : TUS data are also required for understanding and monitoring major socio-economic concerns of countries.

SOURCES : PIB

• COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK : Time use data are needed for implementing not only the SDG 5.4 on unpaid work, but also for implementing the SDG-1 to the SDG-10.
• SCATTERED INFORMATION : Even for the SDG 5.4 — considered to be the most important SDG for measuring and valuing unpaid domestic servicesand unpaid care by women and men — the Indian TUS data are not adequate.
• DATA DEFICIENCY : This valuation is not adequate, because it values only the labour input and leaves out the capital and technology used.
• COMPUTATIONS AND RECORDS : Satellite accounts of unpaid work, however, takes into consideration capital/technology while computing the accounts.

WHAT IS SATELLITE ACCOUNTS ?

• Satellite accounts of unpaid work use the principal functions concept, which can be compared with the national accounts functions.
• Under this approach, unpaid work is presented in terms of this classification of the functions.
• It is similar to the classification of the functions under the national-accounts.
• These accounts would be comparable with the national income accounts, and measure the correct contribution of unpaid work to the GDP.

MISSING INFORMATION FROM TUS

• ASSETS AND ACCOUNTING : This accounting requires information on the assets of a household that includes assets used in domestic services, vehicles used in travel and commuting, and consumer durables, etc.
• AGGREGATE WAGES : The accounting also requires wage rates prevailing in different locations.

• GENDER DATA : Since there is no data collected on the ownership of the assets by gender, valuation by gender will not be feasible.

DEFINING WORK

• The ILO’s Resolution — referred to above — presents a new definition of work, new forms of work and a new labour force status classification.

• The TUS does not even have employment as one of the objectives of the TUS.

“WORK” IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE CATEGORIES

• Employment(production of goods and services for pay, profit or barter);
• Own use production of goods and services by households;
• Unpaid trainee work,
• Volunteer work;
• Other work (compulsory work performed without pay to produce goods/services for others).