Eating in: employment and home production during the Great Recession

The shift from market purchases to home production is a prevalent feature of the macroeconomy during a recession. However, the nature of aggregate data makes observing this phenomenon difficult. Using the American Time Use Survey, this work highlights the substitution between eating out and eating in at the aggregate level in the United States during the Great Recession by comparing food service industry employment and estimates of time spent on food preparation at home.