Peter Nijkamp Recommends “The False Duality of Work and Leisure” by Joy E. Beatty and William R. Torbert

Abstract

Leisure contributes positively to the economy. Economists have frequently addressed the effect of leisure time on individual or collective economic outcomes (e.g. wages, productivity, efficiency, well-being). Productive time and free time are seen as enemies: more leisure time tends to reduce individual or aggregate economic performance. But leisure time and income are not necessarily antipoles: to achieve a higher position on the income ladder does not always require spending more hours on work and less hours on leisure.