Creating and Transforming Households

This book, first published in 1992, seeks an explanation of the pattern of sharp discrepancy of wage levels across the world-economy for work of comparable productivity. It explores how far such differences can be explained by the different structures of households as 'income-pooling units', examining three key variables: location in the core or periphery of the world-economy; periods of expansion versus periods of contraction in the world-economy; and secular transformation over time. The authors argue that both the boundaries of households and their sources of income are molded by the changing patterns of the world-economy, but are also modes of defense against its pressures. Drawing empirical data from eight local regions in three different zones - the United States, Mexico and southern Africa - this book presents a systematic and original approach to the intimate link between the micro-structures of households and the structures of the capitalist world-economy at a global level.

• Households are a trendy subject with a potential market in many academic disciplines (note women's studies market)
• There are eight studies presenting a unified approach to households. Regions covered are USA, Mexico, and southern Africa. There will be particular interest from those working on these areas due to the empirical data presented
• Immanuel Wallerstein is a star figure in political economy, sociology, and world-systems analysis. It is his approach (the world-economy) which is followed in this book