The Economics of Leisure

This authoritative two-volume collection presents a comprehensive set of key articles that address the economics of leisure, arranged in a manner that facilitates the understanding of the subject. The editor's perceptive introduction highlights the contribution of each article, provides an assessment of the current state of the available literature and draws attention to those areas that are worthy of more research effort. Volume I comprises perspectives on leisure and work as typified by Weber's protestant ethic, Veblen's theory of the leisure class, psychological economics, neoclassical economics and Becker's theory of time allocation. Extensions and applications of the neoclassical theory of demand for leisure-time versus work and contributions on welfare attributes of leisure and the consequences of leisure for human well-being are also included. In Volume II the impact of taxation on work-leisure choices is discussed, together with the demand for particular leisure commodities. Varied, and sometimes controversial, perspectives on the relationship between economic development and trends in leisure-time are explored, and miscellaneous topics such as voluntary labour, applications of characteristics theory, leisure and international trade, and changing technologies and leisure are also covered. This book will be of immense interest to economists, sociologists, psychologists, and those involved in social and leisure studies.