The Economics of Gender

This text provides an introduction to the new work on the differences between women's and men's economic opportunities, activities and rewards. Although Jacobsen's primary focus is on contemporary US patterns, she devotes three separate chapters to the experience of women and men in developed countries with and without market economies and in developing countries. She also takes a close look at the evolution of contemporary patterns over time and the impact on them of race, ethnicity and class. Throughout, she discusses the pros and cons of policies that affect men and women differently: the implementation of "comparable worth" and the effects of welfare programmes, for example. The text features many real-life examples and anecdotes. Appendices provide both additional help for readers who have not had a course in economics and further detail for the more advanced. This book should be useful as a primary text for the growing number of courses on gender and economics, as supplementary reading in a variety of courses in labour economics, economic policy and women's studies, and as a one-stop reference by academics and policy-makers in a wide range of fields.