When you’re resetting the time on everything from your wristwatch to your microwave on Sunday morning, you may pause to wonder: Why am I doing this?

Daylight saving time (DST) was the brainchild of founding father Benjamin Franklin as a way to conserve lamp oil in the salons of Paris. More recently, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was passed by Congress to extend daylight savings in an attempt to lower the national energy bill.

But does it work that way? In the current issue of BusinessWeek, two economists offer their opinions on this timely topic.

In favor, from Steve Calandrillo of the University of Washington School of Law:

Instead of turning Daylight Saving Time (DST) off, Congress should turn it on year-round.

First, despite the contrarians, DST saves energy. Why? Far more oil, electricity, and energy are used during evening darkness than morning because more Americans are awake at 5 p.m. than at 6 a.m. Hence, shifting sunlight to the evening causes a significant reduction in evening peak load, which outweighs a small increase in the early morning load caused by DST.

And against, in the words of William F. Shughart II of the Independent Institute:

Although Daylight Saving Time (DST) has been justified as an energy-conservation measure, it is no such thing. …

Economists typically value the opportunity cost at an individual’s wage rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminarily estimates that the average American’s hourly wage was $22.45 in January 2010.

Assuming it takes everyone 10 minutes to change all of his or her clocks and watches, the opportunity cost equals $3.74 per person. The one-time opportunity cost for the nation (based on total U.S. population over 18 years old, excluding residents of Arizona, which doesn’t observe DST) therefore is $836,117,536. Since clocks are changed twice yearly, the total must be doubled.

We would gladly pay $3.74 for an extra hour of sleep, but unfortunately we’ll have to wait until November 7 for that.

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