Time use data derived from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) for France, Netherlands, Norway, UK and USA with 11 timepoints in a pooled format for the period 1971 - 2000. This dataset was composed to analyse time use and family expenditure to understanding consumption practices and the dynamics of change across time and space. The data derive from national time use surveys, which record how people allocate their time during the day. This dataset allows detailed decomposition of activities and identification of the behaviour of different groups and categories of people. The dataset contains records for 55,496 individuals. The countries and time points included are France 1974, 1998; Netherlands 1975, 1985, 1995; Norway 1971, 2000; UK 1975, 2000; USA 1975, 1985, 1998.This project examined trends in patterns of consumption since the 1970s in five countries: USA, UK, France, Italy and Norway. This comparative analysis was designed to examine systematically whether there was an overall tendency in developed consumer societies towards international convergence in consumption behaviour. This general overarching question allows the exploration of many controversial issues in the understanding of consumer culture, for example, globalization, national differences, social divisions, commodification, formation of demand, diversity of taste, individualization, changing lifestyles and classifications of the consumer. Mapping of patterns and trends in consumption were accomplished by reconstructing and transforming existing national data sets on household expenditure and aligning them with the time use surveys which have been conducted intermittently since the 1960s. Investigation involved identifying trends within each country separately in terms of expenditure and time use, comparing the five cases for signs of convergence and difference and, finally, contrasting the evidence of time-use with that of spending. The project also analysed changes in the categories used by different states statistical offices when classifying expenditures.

Dataset derived from the Multinational Time Use Study, which in turn compiles data from a range of national time use surveys. Please refer to the MTUS surveys website (reference in Related resources) for details of the time-use diary methods used in each country. The survey sources used are France 1974, 1998; Netherlands 1975, 1985, 1995; Norway 1971, 2000; UK 1975, 2000; and USA 1975, 1985, 1998. The persons in the sample are part of households which are identifiable in the original MTUS data for some countries. The unit of analysis of this dataset however is the person. Each person’s time-use diaries for between 2 and 7 days have been averaged into the ‘average daily minutes’ figures which appear in the data as AV numbers.