The economics of gay and lesbian couples: Introduction to a special issue on gay and lesbian households

This article presents a simple conceptual framework integrating three couple-related outcomes analyzed in this volume: wage differentials in earnings related to couple formation, household formation (including cohabitation and registration as Registered Domestic Partnership), and intra-household allocation of income. It also discusses some of the articles’ main findings.

Children, spousal love, and happiness: an economic analysis

In this paper we examine how children affect happiness and relationships within a family by analyzing two unique questions in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth’s 1997 cohort. We find that (a) presence of children is associated with a loss of spousal love; (b) loss of spousal love is associated with loss of overall happiness; but (c) presence of children is not associated with significant loss of overall happiness. If children reduce feelings of being loved by the spouse but do not reduce reported happiness even though spousal love induces happiness, then it must be the case that children contribute to parental happiness by providing other benefits. After ruling out some competing compensation mechanisms we infer that loss of spousal love is compensated with altruistic feelings towards children.     

Women's Labor Supply,Marriage, and Welfare Dependency

Abstract. This paper provides a rational choice model that simultaneously analyses women's decisions about welfare dependency, labor supply, and marriage. The model is based on the Demand and Supply (D&S) models of marriage inspired by Becker's theory of marriage. In addition to reproducing old insights about income effects and marriage market effects on welfare dependency, the model offers new insights regarding the effects on welfare dependency of sex ratios, divorce laws, cohort size, and traditional expectations about marriage and family. The model helps understand why welfare is more common among black women in the USA and offers a new interpretation for past trends in American women's welfare dependency: the big increase in welfare dependency in the late 1960s is interpreted as a baby‐boom phenomenon and recent reductions in welfare dependency are partially seen as the expression of young women's better marriage market opportunities.     

Line Balancing in Parallel M/M/1 Lines and Loss Systems as Cooperative Games

We consider production and service systems that consist of parallel lines of two types: (i) M/M/1 lines and (ii) lines that have no buffers (loss systems). Each line is assumed to be controlled by a dedicated supervisor. The management measures the effectiveness of the supervisors by the long run expected cost of their line. Unbalanced lines cause congestion and bottlenecks, large variation in output, unnecessary wastes and, ultimately, high operating costs. Thus, the supervisors are expected to join forces and reduce the cost of the whole system by applying line‐balancing techniques, possibly combined with either strategic outsourcing or capacity reduction practices. By solving appropriate mathematical programming formulations, the policy that minimizes the long run expected cost of each of the parallel‐lines system, is identified. The next question to be asked is how to allocate the new total cost of each system among the lines' supervisors so that the cooperation's stability is preserved. For that sake, we associate a cooperative game to each system and we investigate its core. We show that the cooperative games are reducible to market games and therefore they are totally balanced, that is, their core and the core of their subgames are non‐empty. For each game a core cost allocation based on competitive equilibrium prices is identified.     

Developing the Capacity for Reflective Functioning Through an Intersubjective Process

The following paper explores the concepts of reflective functioning, metacognition (Main et al. in Adult attachment scoring and classification systems. Regents of the University of California, Berkeley, 2002), and mentalization (Fonagy and Target in Mind to mind: Infant research, neuroscience and psychoanalysis. Other Press, New York, 2008; Fonagy et al. in Affect regulation, mentalization and the development of the self. Other Press, New York, 2002). Using an extended case illustration, the author demonstrates how she uses the clinical process to develop more mature reflective and mentalization capacities with a client through dream analysis, identification of affect states, therapeutic ruptures and mutual play.     

Marriage contracts and the law-and-economics of marriage: an Austrian perspective

Marriages and firms share many characteristics in common. Both institutions deal with a set of promises between two parties and therefore need contracts to encourage individual parties to stand by their promises and commitments. Despite these similarities, in most countries marriage laws are statutory laws that have little in common with commercial contract laws. We present the Chicago and neoclassical perspectives on law-and-economics, with a special emphasis on marriage laws. According to this framework, it is possible to explain the way traditional marriage laws have regulated exchanges between spouses and spouses in Western countries such as France, when these countries were patriarchal societies. We also consider the case of egalitarian marriage and show some of the limitations of any statutory marriage laws. We then present a critical perspective on the law-and-economics literature on marriage. Our critique is based on the economic literature by Austrian economists and by public choice theorists. We emphasize the knowledge problem, the problem of interest, and the problems associated with government monopoly in coercion. Our concluding section presents some suggestions regarding a legal system inspired from international commercial contract law. By not giving any particular government a monopoly on the power to enforce marriage contracts such system would avoid some of the problems found in the systems of statutory laws currently regulating marriage and divorce in the Western world.     

Ethno‐Class Distinctions and Reality (TV)

This article offers a cultural‐sociological analysis of interpretations by viewers from different classes on the most popular reality show in Israel, namely, Big Brother. The findings of this study show dramatic differences in viewing practices according to class and ethnic distinctions of the viewers. Viewers from the upper socioeconomic class primarily addressed the way in which the subjects from the low socioeconomic class and marked ethnic groups appear in their eyes: that is, the processes affiliated with Othering. These ethno‐class distinctions were translated into unique viewing practices: the identification of what are called, “cult moments” or “grotesque moments.” These moments are depicted as ridiculing the “exaggerated” behavior of members of the low socioeconomic class and specific ethnic groups. Viewers from the low socioeconomic class offer more imminent (and less distant) perspectives on the Big Brother program. They relate to a broad spectrum of content that was broadcast in the program, identify with the participants from their group, criticize the judgments and the cultural hierarchies of marked group members, and describe how political anger accompanies their viewing of the reality program. The discussion section suggests the connection of these subjective interpretations and widespread cultural scenarios about class and ethnic identities.     

Values and Risk Perceptions: A Cross‐Cultural Examination

This article examines the relationship between values and risk perceptions regarding terror attacks. The participants in the study are university students from Turkey (n = 536) and Israel (n = 298). Schwartz value theory (1992, 1994) is applied to conceptualize and measure values. Cognitive (perceived likelihood and perceived severity) and emotional (fear, helplessness, anger, distress, insecurity, hopelessness, sadness, and anxiety) responses about the potential of (i) being personally exposed to a terror attack, and (ii) a terror attack that may occur in one's country are assessed to measure risk perceptions. Comparison of the two groups suggests that the Turkish participants are significantly more emotional about terror risks than the Israeli respondents. Both groups perceive the risk of a terror attack that may occur in their country more likely than the risk of being personally exposed to a terror attack. No significant differences are found in emotional representations and perceived severity ratings regarding these risks. Results provide support for the existence of a link between values and risk perceptions of terror attacks. In both countries, self‐direction values are negatively related to emotional representations, whereas security values are positively correlated with emotions; hedonism and stimulation values are negatively related to perceived likelihood. Current findings are discussed in relation to previous results, theoretical approaches (the social amplification of risk framework and cultural theory of risk), and practical implications (increasing community support for a course of action, training programs for risk communicators).     

Coming In: Queer Narratives of Sexual Self-Discovery

Many models of queer sexuality continue to depict a linear narrative of sexual development, beginning in repression/concealment and eventuating in coming out. The present study sought to challenge this by engaging in a hermeneutically informed thematic analysis of interviews with eight queer people living in Western Australia. Four themes were identified: “searching for identity,” “society, stigma, and self,” “sexual self-discovery,” and “coming in.” Interviewees discussed internalized homophobia and its impact on their life; experiences and implications of finding a community and achieving a sense of belonging; the concept of sexual self-discovery being a lifelong process; and sexuality as fluid, dynamic, and situational rather than static. The article concludes by suggesting that the idea of “coming in”—arriving at a place of acceptance of one’s sexuality, regardless of its fluidity or how it is viewed by society—offers considerable analytic leverage for understanding the journeys of sexual self-discovery of queer-identified people.     

Consumer‐directed care for older Australians: Are resources identified on the Web adequate to support decisions about home‐based care packages?

Consumer‐directed care (CDC) was introduced as part of aged care policy reforms in Australia in 2012. CDC aims to promote choice and control for people with complex needs who need home care and supports. While more choices may bring benefits, information and resources are needed by people to navigate new and complex care‐related decisions. In 2017, we identified the resources available to support consumers of the new CDC Home Care Packages (HCP) program via an Internet search. Forty‐six resources were analysed to assess the adequacy of information to inform care choices. General information was most frequently found, but information to guide specific choices, such as choosing or changing service providers, was limited. Accessibility of information was limited for non‐English speakers and for people with low literacy or reduced capacity for decision making. No training opportunities were identified, and only one non‐partisan organisation offered support for decision making. Overall, the information and supports analysed were not adequate to assist older people to make choices to ensure consumer direction of care. There is an urgent need to improve the quality and accessibility of information and provide training and support for choice, particularly for those with limited decision‐making capacity, such as those living with dementia.