We hear much talk about “family values,” but what “value” do we actually place on the family itself? In Postindustrial America is the family merely a moral and sentimental “worthy cause?” Or is it in fact the focus of some of society’s most important work—the development of productive workers and citizens—and thus one of the primary engines of economic growth?In The Feminine Economy and Economic Man, Shirley Burggraf sets the record straight about the true value—and true cost—of the family’s work in nurturing and protecting society’s “human capital.” With startling insight she also shows why we must replace our “charity” attitude toward family with something more appropriate, the same model we use for encouraging other, important economic entities—the model of investment and incentives.Economists have always referred to an inevitable “next generation” of workers who will expand the GNP, pay off the national debt, and support the social security system. Yet until now economic thinkers, predominantly male, have never factored into their equations the investment in time, labor, and opportunity cost actually required to rear those children into productive maturity. It was as if the next generation arose magically on its own when, in fact, the economically important work of caretaking was being performed all the while by an invisible, unpaid labor force called women.But now, with expanded opportunities available, women no longer volunteer to nurture and educate the young, or to take care of the sick and dying, for submarket wages or for no wages at all. A huge transfer of labor has taken place from the Feminine Economy of caregiving into the market-driven world of Economic Man, but economists, persisting in their blind spot, have yet to recognize the full impact of the shift. Thirty years after this free or underpriced labor force began to disappear we see our social structure fraying at the seams, and we wonder why.The answer, clearly, is not to send women back home, nor is it for paternalistic government to try to displace the family entirely and take over every caretaking function. The answer is insightful public policy that insures that those who invest most in producing our economy’s human capital—the parents, the teachers, the caregivers—be rewarded with real economic incentives rather than lip service and platitudes.A parent’s dividend through social security, dramatic revision of our divorce laws, and a parent-driven approach to public education are just a few of the provocative ideas Shirley Burggraf offers for bringing the family back into the center of this vital economic function. Both in its analysis and in its recommendations, this is a book certain to spark heated debate.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
This is a challenging book that proposes practical measures to restore the social and economic value of families, rather than providing merely earnest hand-wringing over "family values." Reforming Social Security payments, the author argues, provides the potential to unite generations in a closer union of inter-dependence as well as providing a "parental dividend" that would recompense parents and reward marital and parental commitment. Burggraf challenges us to think through the opportunity cost of not caring adequately for children and redistribute incentives appropriately. While acknowledging the social cost (and tragedy) of the disintegrating family, Burggraf sets aside nostalgia and focuses on the problems of family life with admirable analytical ability. The result is an intriguing and original blueprint for new institutional supports for families, supports that are appropriate for our current time.
Review
The central problem The Feminine Economy and Economic Man addresses is that everyone agrees how important it is to nurture children, but few are willing to put their money where their mouths are.... [Burggraf] has written an important work in moral economy. While her methods are practical, she aims for a "great moral awakening" to the importance of the family as an economic institution. "In a world in which people are free to choose between caring and competitive roles," she writes, "an economic system that disproportionately rewards the competitors and beggars the caretakers will eventually lose its ability to compete because resources are increasingly diverted away from society's basic function of providing a civilized context for human life." -- The New York Times Book Review, Fred Miller Robinson
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Privatizing child-rearing costs and socializing the benefits,
By purswell@telepath.com (Norman, OK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Feminine Economy And Economic Man: Reviving The Role Of Family In The Postindustrial Age (Hardcover)
This is a very readable book. The essence of this book is proposed changes to the Social Security System and marriage/divorce laws to restore some of the incentives to get the neccesary work of caretaking of the children and the aged done. With some very simple back-of-the-envelope calculations (She goes through the numbers in a bit more detail in an appendix), Burggraf makes clear the extent to which the Social Security system functions to socialize the benefits of a well-reared child while many of the costs of raising a productive citizen remain privatized. At the same time she also makes the point that the once-hidden opportunity costs of having a full-time parent at home are now quite apparent since women have the option of becoming lawyers, doctors and managers. The combination of these two features of our economic system provides a compelling incentive for both spouses to work and not to invest themselves in themselves in having or rearing children. The result is an entirely predictable decline in the parental resources devoted to children. A second interesting and important point that Burggraf makes is that Social Security is not and has not for decades been a savings plan but a transfer payment system which (ideally) functions to provide for the persons who have lived beyond their working years. Other people have of course made the same observation, but Burggraf's treatment is atypical in that she argues that the transfer payment aspect is neither surprising or bad. Instead, she argues it is right and proper that it is right and proper for adult children to provide for their aged parents, but that the current system muddles this relationship. She notes that the way for a couple to maximize their Social Security benefits is not by investing themselves in their children (who will be paying the FICA and medicare taxes to support them) but to maximize their own earnings in the paid workforce and put little or no energy into child rearing. One final point of her book which deserves mention is consideration of the point that "family wealth" for all but the richest Americans consists not of tangible assets but in the earnings power developed through years of education and experience in the paid workforce. In essence, she advocates bringing back some form of alimony payments which would continue for approximately the same duration as the marriage in order to give a caretaking parent some security in exchange for the loss of earnings power for forgoing the opportunity to develop one's own earnings power. Burggraf proposes some interesting changes to the Social Security system and marriage/divorce laws in an effort to restore some of the traditional incentives to get the necessary work of care-taking of the young and old done.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Important Pillar of Feminist Economics,
This review is from: The Feminine Economy And Economic Man: Reviving The Role Of Family In The Postindustrial Age (Paperback)
Burggraf's book is a brilliant tour de force. You will never look at economics the same after reading it. It is time to understand that what is meant by "economics" in this country is conceptualized from an almost purely male perspective. Burggraf paints for us what economics would look if we took women's labor in creating human capital seriously. Our economic policies would be much different than they are now, and would put capitalism on a much more sustainable foundation. Now more than ever, in the wake of the 2008 homo economicus-created recession, do we need thinkers like Burggraf!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The cost of a disappearing caretaking economy,
By
This review is from: The Feminine Economy And Economic Man: Reviving The Role Of Family In The Postindustrial Age (Hardcover)
The title of this book is less revealing of its power than the subtitle. So far this year this one is the best book I have read. I have a very bad case of intellectual curisioty - very difficulty to satisfy. This didn't disappoint; it is GREAT!
If you follow current events you must have heard the debate, especially in the blogosphere, about the real value, measured as salary per annum, of stay-at-home moms. If you Google search "salary of stay-at-home moms" you will see an estimate of $117,000. The figure has set off a flurry of pro-con debate. Professor Burggraf came to the topic a little long before many commentators presently online. In the "Feminine Economy and Economic Man" she clarifies the issues authoritatively. The problem she sees is that "the family is actually the primary engine of economic growth, and yet it has never been recognized as such" (p.ix). The first three chapters of the book are devoted to demonstrating how the problem arose and why it is important to solve it. Three distinct views emerge from that discussion. On one hand is neo-Marxist radical feminism that suggests that it is imperative that technological progress come around to abolish the family structure and its role, both of which center around the domination of women by men. It envisions a revolution that ends into a gender-less and sex-less society. This biological transgendering and transsexuality would resemble Marx's classless society under his communism construct. On the other extreme are radical anti-feminists claiming that society is at great risk of danger unless women return to their traditional roles at all costs. The two opposing sides contrast to the Burggrafician vision which distinguishes between the "quest for economic equality" by women and their supporters and the social benefits of motherhood in which women pay a much larger investment cost of a positive externality. The author demonstrates effectively that the economic principles that support the masculine economy at the cost of the feminine economy in turn increase the depreciation rate of human capital. One of the obvious consequences of increased human capital depreciation is the loss innovation. The implications are important to us all. Just brilliant!! Chapter 5 describes how the stress on human capital ultimately strains social capital as more and more women, discouraged by the low value markets put on their work, leave the feminine economy to become "economic men." While justifiable, the transgendering ignores the fact that "society needs families as desperately as it needs farmers" (p. 67). Neither the liberal bend toward women's economic freedom, nor the conservative insistence that "family roles aren't optional" (p. 68) suffice as sustainable paradigms. This book should be read and recognized! If you have any doubt, here is a simple reading sequence: start with the Preface, Chapter 1, and jump to Chapter 11, for a hook. Chapters 5 -10 constitute l'entrée, along with an invaluable Appendix. Definitely a five-star that does not disappoint. Amavilah, Author Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies http://www.amazon.com/Modeling-Income-Determinants-Embedded-Economies/dp/1600210465/102-0646972-1335324?SubscriptionId=1NNRF7QZ418V218YP1R2
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