Why Gender Matters in Economics

Mukesh Eswaran

An economic way of thinking about the gender issues confronting women around the world

Hardcover

Price:: $39.95/£35.00
ISBN:
Published:: May 26, 2020
Pages:: 408
Size:: 7 x 10 in.
Illus:: 39 line illus. 12 tables.

Paperback

Price:: $39.95/£35.00
ISBN:
Published:: May 26, 2020
Pages:: 408
Size:: 7 x 10 in.
Illus:: 39 line illus. 12 tables.

ebook

Price:: $39.95/£35.00
ISBN:
Published:: May 26, 2020
Pages:: 408
Size:: 7 x 10 in.
Illus:: 39 line illus. 12 tables.

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Gender matters in economics—for even with today’s technology, fertility choices, market opportunities, and improved social norms, economic outcomes for women remain markedly worse than for men. Drawing on insights from feminism, postmodernism, psychology, evolutionary biology, Marxism, and politics, this textbook provides a rigorous economic look at issues confronting women throughout the world—including nonmarket scenarios, such as marriage, family, fertility choice, and bargaining within households, as well as market areas, like those pertaining to labor and credit markets and globalization.

Mukesh Eswaran examines how women’s behavioral responses in economic situations and their bargaining power within the household differ from those of men. Eswaran then delves into the far-reaching consequences of these differences in both market and nonmarket domains. The author considers how women may be discriminated against in labor and credit markets, how their family and market circumstances interact, and how globalization has influenced their lives. Eswaran also investigates how women have been empowered through access to education, credit, healthcare, and birth control; changes in ownership laws; the acquisition of suffrage; and political representation. Throughout, Eswaran applies sound economic analysis and new modeling approaches, and each chapter concludes with exercises and discussion questions.

This textbook gives readers the necessary tools for thinking about gender from an economic perspective.

Addresses economic issues for women throughout the world, in both developed and developing countries
Looks at both market and nonmarket domains
Requires only a background in basic economic principles
Includes the most recent research on the economics of gender in a range of areas
Concludes each chapter with exercises and discussion questions

Awards and Recognition

Winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in Textbook/Social Sciences, Association of American Publishers
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2015

Preface
CHAPTER ONE Introduction
MODULE ONE Fundamental Matters
CHAPTER TWO Do Women and Men Behave Differently in Economic Situations?
- I. Introduction
- II. Do Women Behave More Altruistically Than Men?
- III. Are Women Less Competitive Than Men?
- IV. Are Women More Averse to Risk Than Men?
- V. A Cautionary Note on Observer Bias
- VI. Nature versus Nurture in Gender: Evolutionary, Feminist, and Postmodern Views
- VII. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
CHAPTER THREE What Determines the Balance of Power in a Household?
- I. Introduction
- II. The Unitary Model
- III. The Nash Bargaining Model
- IV. Determinants of Threat Utility
- V. Noncooperative Bargaining
- VI. Evidence for Bargaining Models
- VII. Origins of Patriarchy
- VIII. Culture and the Perpetuation of Patriarchy
- IX. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
MODULE TWO Gender in Markets
CHAPTER FOUR Are Women Discriminated Against in the Labor Market?
- I. Introduction
- II. A Taste for Discrimination
- III. Statistical Discrimination
- IV. The Efficiency Wage Theory of Discrimination
- V. Why Women Are Held to Higher Standards Than Men in Some Jobs
- VI. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
CHAPTER FIVE How Do Credit Markets Affect the Well-being of Women?
- I. Introduction
- II. The Gendered Distribution of Wealth
- III. Why Asset Ownership Matters: A Marxian Model
- IV. The Role of Wealth in Credit Markets
- V. Implications for Entrepreneurship
- VI. How Credit Markets Put Women Entrepreneurs at a Disadvantage
- VII. Is There Gender Discrimination in Credit Markets?
- VIII. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
CHAPTER SIX What Are the Effects of Globalization on Women?
- I. Introduction
- II. Advantages of Globalization
- III. Effects of International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment on Women
- IV. Globalization and Investment in Human Capital: Lessons from India
- V. Globalization and Patriarchy
- VI. A Downside of Globalization: Increased Trafficking of Women
- VII. Are Women More Protectionist Than Men?
- VIII. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
MODULE THREE Marriage and Fertility
CHAPTER SEVEN How Do Women Fare in the Institution of Marriage?
- I. Introduction
- II. Social and Private Benefits of Marriage
- III. Two Theories of Marriage: Economic and Evolutionary
- IV. Why Monogamy?
- V. Dowries
- VI. The Human Capital and Labor Market Consequences of Marriage
- VII. Spousal Violence
- VIII. Divorce and Its Economic Effects on Women
- IX. Summary
  - Appendix: The Concept of Present Value
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
CHAPTER EIGHTWhy Are Women the Causes and the Victims of Fertility Decline?
- I. Introduction
- II. Fertility Choice in Rich Countries
- III. Fertility Choice in Poor Countries
- IV. Economic Development and Fertility
- V. The Demographic Transition
- VI. The Role of Child Labor in Fertility Decline
- VII. The Importance of Female Autonomy in Fertility Choice
- VIII. Why Females Are Victims of Fertility Decline
- IX. “Missing Women”
- X. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
CHAPTER NINE How Do Women Benefit from Improved Access to Birth Control?
- I. Introduction
- II. Access to Birth Control and the Well-being of Women in Poor Countries
- III. The Effects of Oral Contraceptives on Women’s Careers in Rich Countries
- IV. Birth Control and Out-of-Wedlock Births in Rich Countries
- V. Birth Control and the Well-being of Women in Rich Countries
- VI. Unintended Consequences of Birth Control Technologies
- VII. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
MODULE FOUR Empowering Women
CHAPTER TENHow Did Women Gain Suffrage, and What Are Its Economic Effects?
- I. Introduction
- II. An Economic Motivation for Women’s Suffrage
- III. The Political Means to Attain Suffrage
- IV. How Women Gained Suffrage
- V. Women and the Amount of Government Spending
- VI. Economic Reasons for the Political Gender Gap
- VII. How Daughters Influence Their Parents’ Political Views
- VIII. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
CHAPTER ELEVEN How Can Women Be Empowered?
- I. Introduction
- II. Educating Women
- III. Giving Women Access to Credit
- IV. Using Affirmative Action to Benefit Women
- V. Improving Women’s Political Representation
- VI. Increasing Family Planning and Healthcare Expenditures
- VII. Reforming Inheritance and Property Laws
- VIII. Does Empowerment Make Women Happier?
- IX. Summary
  - Exercises and Questions for Discussion
Index

"Providing an accessible textbook-style survey of this emerging field, Mukesh Eswaran's Why Gender Matters in Economics plugs a gaping hole in the discipline. Drawing on insights not only from feminism but also from evolutionary biology, anthropology, psychology, politics and Marxism, Eswaran seeks to answer questions of interest to us all."—Victoria Bateman, Times Higher Education

"[Why Gender Matters in Economics] provides a practical understanding of how economic reasoning informs discussions around such topics as the balance of power in households, labor markets, wealth, credit markets, fertility and health care, marriage, suffrage, and empowerment. . . . This book is a comprehensive and discerning work that should provide readers with the context and understanding to more effectively comprehend the substantive economic role of gender."—Choice

"A rich trove of information about what are commonly though of as ‘women's issues’ in economics."—Julie A. Nelson, Journal of Economic Literature

"Why Gender Matters in Economics is an excellent combination of textbook and general audience book, a suitable hybrid for the subject matter. This synthesis is well executed and makes the book useful to a wide audience."—Mark Fabian, Economic Record

"This thoughtful, energetic, creative, and engaging book does a terrific job reviewing and explaining some of the most interesting economic research on gender in recent years. It fills an important gap in the gender and economics literature."—Nancy Folbre, professor emeritus of economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Providing a comprehensive view of the economic lives of women, Why Gender Matters in Economics argues that women are systematically disadvantaged relative to men in a number of dimensions and offers policy ideas regarding how women might be more empowered. The book's approach is novel and synthesizes recent research results."—Joyce P. Jacobsen, Wesleyan University

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