Time Use and the Geography of Economic Opportunity

Recent work suggests that the area of the United States in which a child is raised has a substantial effect on their income in adulthood. We measure differences in time use between areas which are better or worse at producing incomes in adulthood. The main differences are that, in areas which produce higher incomes, people spend more time at work, and adults spend more time with children. The data does not support some theories of what makes communities effective at producing human capital: People do not spend more time on educational activities, or on community events and institutions, in areas which increase incomes by more.