The Household “Pie”

Abstract

The discussion of theoretical, conceptual, and methodological concerns in the last three chapters has set the stage for an examination of the total effort that households devote to domestic and market activities. In the introductory chapter, I argued that a study of the apportionment of household and market labors must rest fundamentally on an understanding of what households need to accomplish. Moreover, the mechanisms by which individual members divide their labors and their labor time are first seen most appropriately in the context of the total productive output of households.