Question

1) Use Becker's analysis of the allocation of time among family members to calculate how the family below, consisting of 2 individuals, Marge and Homer, should allocate their labor time.

	MP of Household Labor	MP of Market Labor
Marge	35	70
Homer	75	100

Briefly, suggest a counter-example which an Institutionalist or Feminist critic of Becker's theory of the family might use instead to explain the gender division of labor.

Answer 1

If you calculate the opportunity cost of household labor for each of them you will get:

Marge 70/35 = 2, meaning that $2 worth of market labor is foregone for each $1 of household labor

Homer 100/75 = 1.33, meaning that $1.33 worth of market labor is foregone for each $1 of household labor

Clearly, it is cheaper for Homer to do household labor and for Marge to do market labor.

I don't know if the institutionalist or feminist critic will have a valid argument against this allocation but it could be that one of them is better off doing household work (or market work) as opposed to the other. This 'better off' may be subjective and / or based on tradition and not necessarily logical.