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Multitasking

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Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics

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Abstract

This chapter reviews economic studies on multitasking in household production. Whereas multitasking or task juggling in the workplace has been analyzed widely, economic literature on multitasking in a household is relatively scarce. The chapter first provides relevant measures of such multitasking activities, discusses time-diary data, and presents some empirical facts employing Harmonized European Time Use Survey data. It then reviews theoretical and empirical contributions to this topic, focusing on childcare, food consumption, and remote work, and discusses multitasking by certain groups, such as ethnic minorities and children. It also reviews the determinants of multitasking and identifies the factors that are more likely to affect these activities. Finally, it offers policy implications and suggestions for future research.

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Acknowledgments

Responsible Section Editor: Victoria Vernon.

The chapter has benefitted from valuable comments of the editors. Debra Soled provided valuable editorial help with English proofreading. There is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, GLO, POP UNU-MERIT and IZA, Modena, Italy

    Anzelika Zaiceva

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  1. Anzelika Zaiceva
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Correspondence to Anzelika Zaiceva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. UNU-MERIT & Princeton University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Klaus F. Zimmermann

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, SUNY Empire State College, New York, NY, USA

    Victoria Vernon

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Zaiceva, A. (2023). Multitasking. In: Zimmermann, K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_312-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_312-1

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