The New Household Economics, General X-Efficiency Theory and Consumption in Developing Countries

Jeffrey James
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Jeffrey James: Tilburg University

Chapter 9 in Consumption and Development, 1993, pp 182-198 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Associated mainly with the work of Gary Becker, the ‘new household economics’ views consumption as a process of ‘producing’ characteristics from purchased inputs and labour time.1 As such, it establishes a pioneering link between consumption and the theory of production. Among other things, this analogy enables one to analyse the efficiency with which the various activities in the household, such as cleaning, administering health care, cooking and feeding, are carried out. For, just as production by the firm may be more or less efficient, so too can households vary in the efficiency with which they conduct their various activities. When they are applied to activities that are closely related to basic needs (such as infant feeding or the provision of health care), these variations may help to explain the differential extent to which poor households are able to meet the basic needs (for hunger, thirst and so on) of their members and, more specifically, why education seems to be so important in accounting for these differences.

Keywords: Infant Feeding; Household Economic; Equilibrium Degree; Unwanted Birth; Administer Health Care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1993
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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-22658-0_9

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