Barbara Bergmann's scholarship on the economic risks of being a housewife

Sarah F. Small and Jade Ramirez-Barraza

Chapter 12 in The Elgar Companion to Women and Heterodox Economics, 2025, pp 186-200 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In 1981, pioneering feminist economist Barbara Bergmann published a paper in the American Economic Review on the economic risks of being a housewife. Until this publication, mainstream economists had applied the term ‘risk’ differently from Bergmann, with minimal reference to gender and power. Yet, several feminist heterodox economists and activists in the Wages for Housework Movement used arguments similar to Bergmann. While Bergmann's theories on housewifery aligned well with the feminist heterodox economics literature of this era, she strategically positioned herself closer to mainstream economics by examining housewifery through the lens of labour economics. We show that Bergmann's 1981 publication had an enduring impact on the Feminist Economics community and a minimal impact on mainstream economic thinking. We conclude by contextualizing how Bergmann's work fits into her broader intellectual identity: straddled between mainstream and heterodox economics.

Keywords: Barbara Bergmann; Feminist Economics; History Of Economic Thought; Housewife; Risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035329304
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