@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp16090, author={Friedman-Sokuler, Naomi and Senik, Claudia}, title={Time-Use and Subjective Well-Being: Is Diversity Really the Spice of Life?}, year={2023}, month={Apr}, institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)}, address={Bonn}, type={IZA Discussion Paper}, number={16090}, url={https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp16090}, abstract={Using the American and the French time-use surveys, we examine whether people have a preference for a more diversified mix of activities, in the sense that they experience greater well-being when their time schedule contains many different activities rather than is concentrated on a very small number. This could be due to decreasing marginal utility, as is assumed for goods consumption, if each episode of time is conceived as yielding a certain level of utility per se. With returns to specialization, people would then face a trade-off between efficiency and diversity in choosing how to allocate time. We examine these issues and investigate potential gender differences, considering both instantaneous feelings and life satisfaction. }, keywords={time allocation;time-use diversity;subjective well-being;life satisfaction;momentary utility;gender}, }