Out of the Margin is the first volume to consider feminist concerns across the entire domain of economics. The book addresses the philosophical roots of 'rational economic man', power relations and conflicts of interest within the family, the limitations of relying on secondary data and the policy implications of neo-classical models.
With its range and depth of coverage this is not only an excellent introduction to the field but also indespensible for those seeking more in depth knowledge of issues of gender and economics.

Out of the Margin is the first volume to consider feminist concerns across the entire domain of economics. The book addresses the philosophical roots of 'rational economic man', power relations and conflicts of interest within the family, the limitations of relying on secondary data and the policy implications of neo-classical models.
With its range and depth of coverage this is not only an excellent introduction to the field but also indespensible for those seeking more in depth knowledge of issues of gender and economics.

A model of household decisions based on a bargaining approach is developed providing a comprehensive framework for the analysis of family behavior. Treating the family as an economic organization, household behavior is explained by the cooperation of utility maximizing individuals. The difference to traditional microeconomic household models is that theassumption of a joint household utility function is abandoned. Instead of this, a game theoretic approach is used to model family decisions as a result of intrafamily bargaining. Considering the development of the spouses human capital in a dynamic approach, the long-term effects of intrafamily specialization in market work and work at home are analyzed. Onemajor finding is that in a dynamic setting non-Pareto efficient allocations may result. Empirical tests demonstrate the relevanace of the bargaining approach.

The contributions of this collected volume are the result of a call for papers. The authors met and discussed their drafts at the workshop "Inequality in Europe," organized by the editors. The workshop was sponsored by the "Population Economics" section of the German Association for Demography ("Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Bevoelkerungs wissenschafl" - DGBw) and by the "Josef-Popper-Naehrpflicht" Foundation. The aim of this foundation, located at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-University of Frankfurt am Main, is to support research dealing with problems of achieving a "reasonable" standard of living. Originally the aim of the foundation was to further the notion of a guaranteed minimum income ("allgemeine Naehrpjlicht"). The publication of this book is also sponsored by this foundation. The workshop was held at the "Evangelische Akademie Arnoldshain," near Frankfurt am Main. The helpful discussions during the workshop benefitted greatly from the friendly atmosphere of the academy. Some of the articles were financially supported by the "Panel Comparability" Project (PACO), located at CEPS (Centre d'Etudes de Populations, de Pauvrete et de Politiques Socio-Economiques) in Luxembourg. PACO is a joint activity of the German Institute for Economic Research (DrW) in Berlin, CEPS and some other institutions in European countries. It is sponsored by grant No. ERBCHRX-CT92- 0037 ("European Network on Longitudinal Household Panel Studies Meeting Technology Requirement for Comparative Research") of the "Human Capital and Mobility" program of the Commission of the European Community."

Entscheidungen unter Unsicherheit kAnnen mit dem A1/4blichen Erwartungsnutzenkonzept hAufig nicht angemessen modelliert werden, da die zugrunde liegenden Informationen den wahrscheinlichkeitstheoretischen Anforderungen nicht genA1/4gen. AnsAtze der "beschrAnkten RationalitAt" erscheinen dagegen oft willkA1/4rlich, da die Kriterien ihrer Anwendbarkeit fehlen. Die Modellierung von Unsicherheit mit Fuzzy-Mengen, die hier in einer maAtheoretischen Interpretation verwendet werden, erlaubt eine Verallgemeinerung der RationalitAtsbedingungen, die viele dieser AnsAtze als SpezialfAlle enthAlt. Eine Anwendung bei Social Choice Problemen zeigt das Potential des Ansatzes zur ErklArung und Verbesserung der Verfahren kollektiver Entscheidungen.

In der Offentlichkeit wird der Erwerbstatigkeit von Frauen die Schuld an den sehr niedrigen Geburtenhaufigkeiten in der Bundesrepublik gegeben. Der vorliegende Band legt eine Reihe von soziologischen und okonomischen Aufsatzen vor, die dieser popularen These widersprechen. Insbesondere wird gezeigt, dass eine Familienpolitik, die nur die Mutterrolle (finanziell) unterstutzt, zum Scheitern verurteilt ist. Fur viele Frauen ist Erwerbstatigkeit unverzichtbar geworden. Gleichzeitig gibt es aber Kinderwunsche. Deswegen ist eine Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik, insbesondere eine Arbeitspolitik, die die Vereinbarkeit von Erwerbstatigkeit und Kindererziehung erleichtert, die beste Familienpolitik.