Employment-related time poverty, time stress and food away from home behaviour: Panel evidence from Australia

Abstract

This study examines the link between employment-related time poverty and food away from home (FAFH) behaviour. We use a large representative sample of Australians drawn from five waves of panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Endogeneity biases stemming from reverse causality and omitted variable issues are resolved using fixed effect-instrumental variable approach while other quasi-experimental methods are applied to check for consistency in findings. Overall, we find that employment-related time poverty is associated with an increase in the likelihood of engaging in FAFH behaviour. In specific terms, it is associated with an increase in the likelihood of consuming breakfast, dinner, and supper away from home. Employment-related time poverty is associated with an increase in FAFH tendencies more among females and those located in rural/remote communities. Regarding mealtimes, employment-related time poverty is associated with an increase in the drive towards FAFH behaviour more for lunch, followed by breakfast and dinner respectively. Psychological feeling of time stress is discovered as an important pathway via which time poverty is associated with an increase in FAFH tendencies.