Ep. 5: Household Bargaining, Pt. 1: Game Theory, Cooperative Conflicts, and Bargaining Models

Now that we’ve established all models are wrong, let’s discuss some models!

Game theory is the study of strategy in social interactions. It’s very useful for assessing (heterosexual) household inequality — and for developing strategic responses to that inequality.

There are two episodes on household bargaining, and in this first part I cover simple Nash bargaining models, and Amartya Sen’s household bargaining model from his 1990 paper “Gender and Cooperative Conflicts”.

 

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:46 Game Theory, Battle of the Sexes, and Why Strategy Is a Good Thing

00:12:05 Bargaining Models, Sen’s Household Bargaining Model, and How Financial Independence Increases Bargaining Power

00:17:55 More to Come!

 

Games and Models

A good visual for the Battle of the Sexes game can be found here: <https://policonomics.com/lp-game-theory2-battle-of-the-sexes/>.

For the Nash Bargaining Model, see Nash, John F. “The Bargaining Problem.” Econometrica 18, no. 2 (1950): 155–62. <https://doi.org/10.2307/1907266>.

Another explanation of the Nash Bargaining Model: <https://econbeh.blogspot.com/2015/06/nash-bargaining-solution.html>.

 

References

Sen, Amartya. “Gender and Cooperative Conflicts,” Persistent Inequalities, edited by Irene Tinker, Oxford University Press, 1990. See 1987 working paper here: <https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/WP18.pdf>.

Dutta, Prajit K. and Vergote, Wouter. Strategies and Games: Theory and Practice, Second Edition, The MIT Press, 2022.

Bittman, Michael, et al. “When Does Gender Trump Money? Bargaining and Time in Household Work,” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 109, No. 1, pp. 186–214, 2003. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1086/378341>. 

Miller, Claire Cain. “Men Do More at Home, but Not as Much as They Think.” The New York Times, 2015. <www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/upshot/men-do-more-at-home-but-not-as-much-as-they-think-they-do.html>.

Goldin C, Kerr SP, Olivetti C. The Other Side of the Mountain: Women's Employment and Earnings over the Family Cycle. IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities. London, England: Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS); 2021. URL = <https://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/publications/other-side-mountain-womens-employment-and-earnings-over-family-cycle>.

Bianchi SM, Sayer LC, Milkie MA, Robinson JP. Housework: Who Did, Does or Will Do It, and How Much Does It Matter? Soc Forces. 2012 Sep 1;91(1):55-63. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sos120>. PMID: 25429165; PMCID: PMC4242525.

Barroso, Amanda. “For American couples, gender gaps in sharing household responsibilities persist amid pandemic.” Pew Research Center, 2021. URL = <https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/25/for-american-couples-gender-gaps-in-sharing-household-responsibilities-persist-amid-pandemic/>.

 

Further Reading

Harris, E.A., Gormezano, A.M. & van Anders, S.M. Gender Inequities in Household Labor Predict Lower Sexual Desire in Women Partnered with Men. Arch Sex Behav 51, 3847–3870 (2022). DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02397-2>.

 

Cover art by Cato Benschop (IG: @catobenschop).

 

Follow the podcast on X: @pinkonomicspod (x.com/pinkonomicspod)

 

Copyright 2024 The Pinkonomics Podcast. All rights reserved.