Creating and Transforming Households: The Constraints of the World-Economy (Studies in Modern Capitalism) - Hardcover

Smith, Joan; Wallerstein, Immanuel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521415527 ISBN 13: 9780521415521

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1992

Synopsis

This book examines the intimate link between the micro-structures of households and the structures of the world-economy at a global level. It seeks to explain differences in wage levels for work of comparable productivity by examining the different structures of households as "income-pooling units." The authors argue that the boundaries and sources of income of households are molded by the changing patterns of the world-economy, but are also modes of defense against its pressures. Empirical data is drawn from eight local regions in three different zones: the United States, Mexico and southern Africa.

About this title

Book Description

The structures of households are examined as "income-pooling units" to explain differences in wage levels for work of comparable productivity and reveal the intimate link between the micro-structures of households and the structures of the world-economy at a global level.

Review

"This book is a useful sourcebook for those interested iin the specific regions of the world it covers. Perhaps more importantly, it provides empirical evidence to confirm that even in the United States, the classic Fordist worker has existed only during very short periods, while the economic contribution of other members of the household has always been a crucial factor in their reproduction." Belinda Leach, Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521415527
• ISBN 13: 9780521415521
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320