The Economics of Women, Men, and Work

by Blau, Francine D; Ferber, Marianne A; Winkler, Anne E

• ISBN13: 9780131851542
• ISBN10: 0131851543
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

"The Economics of Women, Men, and Work, Fifth Edition, defines the study of women, men, and work in the labor market and the household. Blau, Ferber, and Winkler comprehensively analyzed recent developments in the labor market and their consequences for men and women, to again provide a single volume with the most current summary and synthesis of research and data on gender issues in the labor market."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
Introduction	1	(12)
What Economics Is About	3	(1)
Uses of Economic Theory	4	(1)
The Scope of Economics	5	(1)
Individuals, Families, and Households	6	(1)
A Note on Terminology	7	(1)
Outline of the Book	7	(1)
Appendix: A Review of Supply and Demand in the Labor Market	8	(4)
Questions for Review and Discussion	12	(1)
Women and Men: Changing Roles in a Changing Economy	13	(22)
The Nature of Males and Females	14	(1)
The Role of Sociobiology in Explaining Gender Differences	15	(3)
Factors Influencing Women's Relative Status	18	(1)
Women's Roles and Economic Development	19	(2)
The U.S. Experience	21	(12)
The Preindustrial Period	21	(1)
Industrialization	22	(1)
Industrialization and the Evolution of the Family	23	(5)
Women in the Labor Market	28	(5)
Conclusion	33	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	34	(1)
Suggested Readings	34	(1)
The Family as an Economic Unit	35	(50)
The Simple Neoclassical Model: Specialization and Exchange	37	(5)
Comparative Advantage	37	(1)
Specialization and Exchange: Numerical Examples	38	(2)
Gains to Specialization and Exchange	40	(2)
Other Advantages of Families	42	(1)
Economies of Scale	42	(1)
Public Goods	42	(1)
Externalities in Consumption	42	(1)
Marriage-Specific Investments	43	(1)
Risk Pooling	43	(1)
Institutional Advantages	43	(1)
Disadvantages of Specialization	43	(6)
Sharing of Housework	44	(1)
Life Cycle Changes	45	(1)
Costs of Interdependence	45	(1)
Tastes and Bargaining Power	46	(2)
Domestic Violence	48	(1)
Disadvantages of Specialization: A Summary	49	(1)
Transaction Cost and Bargaining Approaches	49	(4)
Marxist and Radical Feminist Views of the Family	53	(2)
Nonmarket Work	55	(15)
Housework	56	(7)
Volunteer Work	63	(3)
Estimating the Value of Nonmarket Production	66	(4)
The American Family in the Twenty-First Century	70	(4)
Conclusion	74	(1)
Appendix: Specialization and Exchange: A Graphical Analysis	75	(8)
Questions for Review and Discussion	83	(1)
Suggested Readings	83	(2)
The Allocation of Time between the Household and the Labor Market	85	(51)
The Labor Force: Some Definitions	86	(2)
Trends in Labor Force Participation	88	(4)
Trends in Labor Force Attachment	92	(3)
Trends in Hours Worked	95	(1)
The Labor Supply Decision	96	(22)
The Budget Constraint	98	(1)
Indifference Curves	99	(3)
The Participation Decision	102	(2)
The Value of Nonmarket Time (w*)	104	(5)
The Value of Market Time (w)	109	(4)
The Hours Decision	113	(1)
Empirical Evidence on Income and Substitution Effects	113	(2)
Economic Conditions	115	(1)
Some Applications of the Theory: Taxes, Child Care Costs, and Labor Supply	116	(2)
Analyzing Trends in Women's Participation: An Overview	118	(4)
Factors Influencing the Value of Market Time (w)	118	(2)
Factors Influencing the Value of Nonmarket Time (w*)	120	(2)
The World War II Experience	122	(2)
The Post--World War II Baby Boom	124	(1)
The 1960s to the 1980s: Increased Participation of Married Mothers	125	(2)
The 1990s and Early 2000s: Diverging Participation Trends for Married and Single Mothers	127	(1)
Analyzing Trends in Men's Participation	128	(1)
Black and White Participation Differentials: A Closer Look	129	(3)
Conclusion	132
Appendix: The Income and Substitution Effects: A Closer Look	131	(3)
Questions for Review and Discussion	134	(1)
Suggested Readings	134	(2)
Differences in Occupations and Earnings: Overview	136	(22)
Occupational Differences	137	(7)
Occupational Segregation	141	(2)
Hierarchies Within Occupations	143	(1)
Evaluating the Extent of Occupational Segregation	143	(1)
Trends in Occupational Segregation	144	(3)
Female-Male Earnings Ratio	147	(9)
Conclusion	156	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	157	(1)
Differences in Occupations and Earnings: The Human Capital Model	158	(44)
What Is Human Capital?	160	(1)
Gender Differences in Educational Attainment	161	(4)
The Educational Investment Decision	165	(5)
Education and Productivity	170	(1)
Gender Differences in Educational Investment Decisions: The Human Capital Analysis	171	(3)
Expected Work Life	171	(3)
Gender Differences in Educational Investment Decisions: Other Factors	174	(8)
Socialization	174	(3)
Gender-Appropriate Traits and Competencies	177	(2)
Biased Evaluations	179	(1)
Discrimination by Educational Institutions	179	(1)
Subtle Barriers	180	(2)
Policy Issue: The Role of Government in Combating Discrimination in Educational Institutions	182	(1)
Explaining Women's Rising Educational Attainment	183	(1)
On-the-Job Training	184	(1)
Gender Differences in Labor Market Experience	185	(1)
The On-the-Job Training Investment Decision	186	(3)
General Training	186	(1)
Firm-Specific Training	187	(2)
Experience and Productivity	189	(1)
Gender Differences in Training Investment Decisions	190	(3)
Expected Work Life	190	(2)
Discrimination	192	(1)
Occupations and Earnings	193	(1)
Other Supply-Side Factors	194	(2)
The Human Capital Explanation: An Assessment	196	(4)
Conclusion	200	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	200	(1)
Suggested Readings	201	(1)
Differences in Occupations and Earnings: The Role of Labor Market Discrimination	202	(54)
Labor Market Discrimination: A Definition	203	(1)
Empirical Evidence of Labor Market Discrimination	204	(14)
Earnings Differences	204	(7)
Occupational Differences	211	(7)
Models of Labor Market Discrimination	218	(16)
Tastes for Discrimination	218	(8)
Statistical Discrimination	226	(2)
The Overcrowding Model	228	(3)
Institutional Models	231	(2)
Feedback Effects	233	(1)
Policy Issue: The Government and Equal Employment Opportunity	234	(15)
Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and Regulations	235	(5)
Effectiveness of the Government's Antidiscrimination Effort	240	(2)
Affirmative Action	242	(3)
Comparable Worth	245	(4)
Conclusion	249	(1)
Appendix: Regression Analysis and Empirical Estimates of Labor Market Discrimination	250	(4)
Questions for Review and Discussion	254	(1)
Suggested Readings	255	(1)
Recent Developments in the Labor Market: Their Impact on Women and Men	256	(33)
Trends in Female and Male Wages	257	(2)
The Declining Gender Pay Gap	259	(6)
Determinants of Trends in the Gender Pay Gap	259	(1)
Empirical Results for the 1980s	260	(4)
Empirical Results for the 1990s	264	(1)
The Rising Payoff to Education	265	(2)
Changing Labor Market Dynamics	267	(7)
The High-Churning U.S. Labor Market	267	(1)
Unemployment	268	(2)
Other Indicators of Employment Problems	270	(2)
Trends in the Gender Difference in Unemployment	272	(1)
Future Labor Market Prospects	273	(1)
The Rise of the Nonstandard Workforce	274	(4)
Definition and Characteristics of the Nonstandard Workforce	274	(2)
Explanations Behind the Rise of Nonstandard Workers	276	(1)
Consequences for Workers and Their Families	277	(1)
The Growth in Women's Self-Employment	278	(3)
The Changing Face of Labor Unions	281	(5)
Trends in Labor Union Membership	281	(1)
Benefits of Union Membership for Workers and the Impact of Deunionization	282	(1)
Reasons for the Historic Underrepresentation of Women in Unions	283	(1)
The Glass Ceiling in Union Leadership	284	(1)
Prospects for Women in Unions	285	(1)
Conclusion	286	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	287	(1)
Suggested Readings	287	(2)
Changing Work Roles and the Family	289	(37)
Economic Explanations for Family Formation	290	(20)
Marriage	290	(4)
Divorce	294	(5)
Cohabitation: Opposite-Sex, Unmarried Couples	299	(2)
Cohabitation: Gay and Lesbian Couples	301	(2)
Fertility	303	(7)
Changing Family Structure and Economic Well-Being	310	(13)
Dual-Earner Families	310	(4)
Maternal Employment and Children's Outcomes	314	(2)
Single-Parent Families	316	(6)
Family Structure and Children's Outcomes	322	(1)
Conclusion	323	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	324	(1)
Suggested Readings	324	(2)
Policies Affecting Paid Work and the Family	326	(45)
Policies to Alleviate Poverty	326	(14)
AFDC: Our Former Welfare Program	327	(2)
The Iron Triangle of Welfare	329	(1)
Employment Strategies	330	(1)
TANF: Our Current Welfare Program	331	(5)
The Earned Income Tax Credit	336	(2)
Child Support Enforcement	338	(2)
Taxes, Specialization, and Marriage	340	(8)
Income Taxation Policy	341	(4)
The Social Security System	345	(3)
The Competing Demands of Work and Family	348	(2)
Who Is Responsible for Children?	350	(2)
Family-Friendly Policies	352	(15)
Family Leave	353	(3)
Child Care	356	(6)
Alternative Work Schedules	362	(2)
Flexible Benefits	364	(1)
Policies to Assist Couples	364	(3)
Conclusion	367	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	368	(1)
Suggested Readings	369	(2)
Gender Differences in Other Countries	371	(50)
The Economic Status of the World's Women: Overview	372	(14)
Labor Force Participation	372	(5)
Occupations	377	(1)
Earnings	378	(1)
Educational Attainment	379	(1)
Fertility	380	(2)
Housework	382	(1)
Women's Role in Government and Their Standing Before the Law	383	(1)
Interpretations and Implications	383	(3)
A Comparison of the United States to Other Economically Advanced Countries	386	(17)
Labor Force Participation	389	(1)
Occupations	390	(3)
The Gender-Wage Gap	393	(5)
Demographic Trends	398	(4)
Housework	402	(1)
Summary on Economically Advanced Countries	402	(1)
Developing Countries	403	(11)
Education as the Pathway to Empowerment	403	(2)
Fertility and Population Control	405	(3)
Child Labor	408	(2)
Microcredit for Women: Lifeline or Mirage?	410	(3)
Summary on Women in Developing Countries	413	(1)
Countries of the Former Soviet Bloc	414	(3)
Conclusion	417	(1)
Questions for Review and Discussion	417	(1)
Suggested Readings	418	(3)
Author Index	421	(10)
Subject Index	431