Gender, taboo and deceit: the alternative truths of household research

The theoretical reification of the household and the concomitant issues of power within and outside it have resulted in analytical problems that continue to plague development studies in particular and geography in general. Models of the household have continued to develop in sophistication over the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:GeoJournal 2007-09, Vol.70 (1), p.33-45
Main Author: Cloke, Jonathan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bargaining
Bgi / Prodig
Bias
Climate change
Cooperation
Culture
Deceit
Decision making
Development economics
Domestic violence
Economic models
Economic research
Economics
Family relations
Females
Gender
Gender bias
Gender roles
Gender studies
Geography
Global climate
Gore, Al
Household economics
Households
Human geography
Knowledge
Masaya
Men
Microfinance
Nicaragua
Political economy
Population geography and social geography
Poverty
Social research
Statistical analysis
Studies
Taboo
Taboos
Womens studies
World Bank
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Summary:The theoretical reification of the household and the concomitant issues of power within and outside it have resulted in analytical problems that continue to plague development studies in particular and geography in general. Models of the household have continued to develop in sophistication over the last two decades as development practitioners and theoreticians have moved their focus ever downwards towards the individual. As cooperative, semi-cooperative and non-cooperative models have emerged, the descriptors that were once thought to be the determinants of ' the household' have instead painted a picture of increasing complexity through the relationships, flows and processes that are deemed to determine household status and location. This article presents evidence from the city of Masaya in Nicaragua to contribute to the debate on the household, questioning the informational basis on which household bargaining is said to take place in orthodox models, raising questions about such informational assumptions and the way that they continue to inform economic models of the household. The article thus questions the assumptions of prior models and suggests methodological lacunae that must be addressed in future economic and sociological analyses of the household.
ISSN:0343-2521
1572-9893
DOI:10.1007/s10708-007-9096-6