ABSTRACT
This chapter elaborates on simple labor supply model by taking account of three issues. First, much of the time spent at home is given to work activities, not leisure. Second, for those who live with partners, decisions about work for pay, household work, and leisure are usually made in a way that takes account of the activities and income of other household members. Third, just as time at paid work is substitutable with time at home, time spent working for pay in one part of the life cycle is substitutable with time later on. The model of household production presented in the chapter suggests that time spent in household work, such as meal preparation, will be responsive to changes in preferences and to both the income and substitution effects. If workers make labor supply decisions with the life cycle in mind, they will react differently to expected and unexpected wage changes.
