| Understanding the determinants of farm households’ social engagement patterns in rural communities is important for public policy programs that seek to improve the well-being of the rural population and promote rural sustainability. Within this context, this paper examines the factors that influence both the participation in, and the number of hours dedicated to, social, community and leisure activities among farm operators and their spouse/partner in a region in the West of Ireland. The theoretical underpinnings of this research are an extension of Becker’s (1965, 1974) and Gronau’s (1977) agricultural household models, whereby households maximise utility subject to a set of constraints, household income and time endowment. The study employs a time-use... |
