Blau and Ferber (CP):
1. What is the fundamental principle underlying the economic view of family formation?
2. What exactly is meant by the assumption that women have a "comparative advantage" in home production?
3. This chapter is not about marriage as an event, but rather about the division of labor between husband and wife. The implications for marriage and trends in marriage should be clear, however. How does the economic approach to the family explain the trend toward later (and presumably less) marriage?
4. What are the authors main critiques of the standard neoclassical economic model of marriage?
5. Why is an exclusive focus on the gains to specialization a limiting framework for understanding why people form couples?
6. What are the disadvantages of specialization discussed in the chapter? Can you think of others?
7. How might specialization be related to bargaining power between husband and wife (partners)?
8. What is meant by "marriage-specific" investments or "marriage-specific" capital?
The Ties that Bind - Chapter 15 (Moffitt):
1. This is not a very clearly written chapter. Based on what evidence does the author conclude that patterns of marriage generally conform to predictions based on the economic model of marriage (at least for whites)?
2. What is the difference between what he refers to as a "price effects" and "income effects?"
3. Economic models of marriage timing have typically focused only on the economic characteristics of women. Based on the results of this chapter, why would that seem not to be a very good idea?
4. On what grounds does Moffitt argue that any analysis of the economic determinants of marriage should look at different educational groups separately?