EPISODE · Apr 1, 2017 · 9 MIN
TV Dinner
from 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy · host BBC World Service
The way educated women spend their time in the United States and other rich countries has changed radically over the past half a century. Women in the US now spend around 45 minutes per day in total on cooking and cleaning up; that is still much more than men, who spend just 15 minutes a day. But it is a vast shift from the four hours a day which was common in the 1960s. We know all this from time-use surveys conducted around the world. And we know the reasons for the shift. One of the most important of those is a radical change in the way food is prepared. As Tim Harford explains, the TV dinner – and other convenient innovations which emerged over the same period – have made a lasting economic impression.Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon(Image: TV Dinner, Credit: Shutterstock)
What this episode covers
The way educated women spend their time in the United States and other rich countries has changed radically over the past half a century. Women in the US now spend around 45 minutes per day in total on cooking and cleaning up; that is still much more than men, who spend just 15 minutes a day. But it is a vast shift from the four hours a day which was common in the 1960s. We know all this from time-use surveys conducted around the world. And we know the reasons for the shift. One of the most important of those is a radical change in the way food is prepared. As Tim Harford explains, the TV dinner – and other convenient innovations which emerged over the same period – have made a lasting economic impression.Producer: Ben Crighton Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon(Image: TV Dinner, Credit: Shutterstock)
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TV Dinner
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