The Economic Organization of the Household [Paperback]

The text surveys the entire field of the modern economics of the household.The second edition of this text surveys the entire field of the modern economics of the household including current economic explanations of demand and expenditures consumption and saving, how and why people spend their time the way they do working in the market, in the home and in leisure activities, their investments in education and health, fertility behavior including our-of-wedlock births, marriage and divorce. While the focus is plainly on the American experience, the theories can be applied to behavior in settings in other countries.The second edition of this text surveys the entire field of the modern economics of the household including current economic explanations of demand and expenditures consumption and saving, how and why people spend their time the way they do working in the market, in the home and in leisure activities, their investments in education and health, fertility behavior including our-of-wedlock births, marriage and divorce. While the focus is plainly on the American experience, the theories can be applied to behavior in settings in other countries.Surveying the field of the economics of the household, the second edition of this text reviews the theory of the consumer at the intermediate undergraduate level. It applies and extends it to consumer demand and expenditures, consumption and saving, time allocation among market work, home work, and leisure, human capital emphasizing investment in education, children and health, fertility, marriage, and divorce. Influenced by Gary Becker and his associates, the models developed are used to help explain modern U.S. trends in family behavior. Topics are discussed with the aid of geometry and a little algebra.1. Introduction; 2. Household equilibrium; 3. The analysis of consumer demand; 4. Consumption and saving; 5. Work and leisure: how the household spends its time; 6. Human capital: investing in oneself and one's famillS?