sign in sign up
<<
Home , Wealth

American Economic Association

The Study of : A Feminist Critique Author(s): Marianne A. Ferber Source: The American Economic Review, Vol. 85, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundredth and Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association Washington, DC, January 6-8, 1995 (May, 1995), pp. 357-361 Published by: American Economic Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2117948 Accessed: 19/05/2009 16:05

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aea.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for- organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these . For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

American Economic Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The American Economic Review.

http://www.jstor.org The Study of Economics: A Feminist Critique

By MARIANNE A. FERBER*

The small representation of women and hires increases. However, the subject matter minorities among students of economics has can be changed more rapidly, as the con- been noted for some time. While the pro- sciousness of instructors and authors of portion of B.A.'s earned by women in psy- textbooks is raised, and the challenge to the chology rose from 36.7 percent in 1949-1950 traditional economic approach appears to to 70.8 percent in 1988-1989, in sociology be making more progress than most of us from 50.6 percent to 68.8 percent, and even dared to hope only a few short years ago. in mathematics from 22.6 percent to 46.0 Thus, in spite of the remaining problems, percent, in economics it has increased from there is reason to believe that in economics, only 7.6 percent to 32.5 percent. The share as in most other disciplines, women's of Ph.D.'s earned by women in 1988-1989 progress will eventually accelerate. was 56.2 percent in psychology, 50.9 percent in sociology, 26.6 percent in , 19.4 I. The Small Representation of Women percent in mathematics, and 19.0 percent in economics. Hence, general sexism in the The dearth of role models and mentors classroom1 does not appear to be the main has been pointed to as a problem. In culprit, nor do the explanations that mathe- 1988-1989 women comprised only 10.1 per- matics requirements inhibit women's entry cent of economics faculties, and 8.5 percent into economics or that women are uninter- at graduate institutions; among full profes- ested in business-related fields seem con- sors they comprised only 4.8 percent and 3.3 vincing. Instead, one must look to factors percent, respectively. Evidence that gradu- specific to economics. Evidence that women ate students are more likely to get to know students do not perform as well as men in faculty of the same sex well, and that introductory economics courses (John J. whether they have come to know any faculty Siegfried, 1979; Gordon Anderson, et al., members well increases their success in 1994), although they have higher grades completing the Ph.D (Helen M. Berg and overall, further adds to this conclusion. Ferber, 1983) suggests that the absence of For these reasons there has been consid- women faculty tends to make a difference. erable interest among feminist economists More recently, a preliminary report (Philip in the "chilly classroom climate," for women Saunders, 1993) shows that women students and minority students in economics courses. did better in undergraduate economics In this paper, the focus is on the small courses taught by female instructors while, representation of women among economics interestingly, the performance of men was faculties, the biased subject matter, and the about the same whether the class was taught narrow approach of traditional economics. by male or female instructors. The absence The number of women faculty can only be of role models does not, however, appear to increased gradually as their representation be the only problem. among graduate students and new faculty II. Subject-Matter Bias

* Public Policy Institute, Radcliffe College, Ten Gar- A review of nine best-selling texts shows den Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, and Department of there has been progress in removing sub- Economics and Women's Studies, University of Illinois. IThis sexism ranges from the greater attention of ject-matter bias, but also that there is room teachers to boys to the use of sexist language and for substantially more improvement. For disparaging illustrations of incompetent women. one, only 5 percent of individuals men- 357 358 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 1995 tioned (including noneconomists) are ders now corrected" (Mark Blaug, 1962 women, ranging from 0 percent (Michael p. ix). Like many other feminists, most of Parkin,1990) to 15 percent(Edwin G. Dolan them emphasize "holism, harmony and and David E. Lindsay,1991), suggesting that complexityrather than reductionism,domi- there has been little change in this respect. nation, and linearity" (Hilary Rose, 1986 Further, topics of special importance to p. 72). women and discussions of significant dif- Even some prominent ferences between men and women are still economists have been casting a jaundiced all too frequentlyignored. A few examples eye on the narrow neoclassical approach. sufficeto illustratethis point. For example, Rebecca M. Blank (1993 More than half of the texts make no p. 133) says that she was startled to realize mention of the rise in women's labor-force that manyeconomists "really believe all this participation,arguably one of the most im- stuff about individuals constantly making portant economic developmentsof the last fully informed rational choices 50 years;two mention it only as a purported for all expected lifetime costs and benefits" reason for lower .Several of the and believes that this goes a long way to- books fail to note that unpaid work is ex- ward explainingwhy 99 out of 100 students cluded from GDP; one mentions household in introductorycourses are likely to find the productionunder the heading of "leisure"; economic approach sort of crazy, though none discussesways of calculatingits , perhapsinteresting. Only the one remaining or the need for such information.2About student is likely to become an economist. half the books discuss idicomedistribution Harvey Leibenstein (1969) proposed the without remarkingon the disproportionate novel concept of X-efficiency and pointed representation of minorities, women, and out that, unlike the usual model of au- especiallychildren among the poor. House- tonomous, optimizing agents, the behavior holds and families as institutions receive of interactingindividuals is determinedby almost no attention,in spite of the prolifer- differencesin personalityand varyingcondi- ation of research on the "new home eco- tions. Equally unorthodox is Robert M. nomics."Finally, women and minoritiesare Solow's(1990) suggestionthat wages maybe generallyportrayed in stereotypicaloccupa- the result of commonly accepted rules of tions. equity and of institutionalcontrols, both of Individual instructors are not, however, which constitute substantialhurdles to the powerless.They can choose a text that does operation of equilibratingforces. He then somewhat greater to issues of race goes further and argues that wages have to and gender, and can make their sentiments be regarded as an independent variable, known to publishersand authors. Both are likely to be important in determiningthe likely to be influencedby this strategy. productivityof labor. These challenges to established dogma III. FeministCritiques of "The Economic are not unlike those posed by feminists.Yet Approach" Blank (1993) fails to note that the model of the detached, rationalmaximizer is particu- Sins of omission, such as those cited larly inappropriatefor young women mak- above, have long received attention. More ing traditionalcareer choices, because they recently,feminist economistshave also chal- have been socialized to believe that, what- lenged mainstreameconomics in other re- ever else they plan to do, they will have to spects. For the most part, they do not see assume primary responsibility for family the story of economicsas "yesterday'sblun- memberswho need care. The same is true for young people, especially members of minorities,who believe that they have little 2For instance, one needs such information to get or no choice because they have grownup in reasonable estimates of the levels of diverse the inner city or a rural slum, where unem- households. ployment is rampant, and jobs virtu- VOL. 85 NO. 2 RACE AND GENDER IN ECONOMICS 101 359 ally nonexistent. Nor does Blank suggest saries and conveniences of life," that em- that the one student who finds this model phasizes "provisioning"as well as choice. congenial is unlikely to be a woman or a Second, formal mathematical modeling member of a minoritygroup. has been granted the high ground among Similarly, Leibenstein (1969) discusses possible methods, contributing to greater X-efficiencyin the context of the firm, but rigor, but also to abuses, such as using for- he appears to be unawarethat it is particu- mal models to "prove" the existence of larly applicable to the family. And Solow perfectly competitive markets (Katrina (1990) does not note the obvious relevance Alford, 1993), and the trainingof a genera- of his analysisto the notion of comparable tion of graduatestudents as "idiots savants, worth, a concept well-nigh universallycon- skilled in technique but innocent of real demned by neoclassical economists as un- economicissues" (Anne Kruegeret al., 1991 warranted interference with the market, pp. 1044-45). As GerardDebreu (1991) ac- where wages are presumablydetermined by knowledges, this approach has not merely workers'productivity. flavored the subject, but has considerably These omissionshelp to explainwhy such influenced its content. Feminists, on the critics, who have most likely increased the other hand, recognizing that models are appeal of economics to studentswho would necessarily metaphors, and that formal not be attractedto the orthodoxmodel, are modeling is only one route toward better not likely to have made many converts explanationsand greater understanding,fa- amongwomen and minorities.Feminists and vor a richerand more varied menu of meth- "Africanists,"(Rhonda M. Williams,1993), ods. Notably, Donald N. McCloskey(1993) maybe more successfulin this respect.They and Diana Strassmann(1993) have pointed explicitlybegin from the premise that ideol- to the importance of "story telling," Ann ogy is, at the very least, bound to make a Jennings (1993) among others has empha- differencein what problemsare selected for sized the role of institutions, and Julie A. research, how research is operationalized, Nelson (1993) has noted the contribution and how findings are interpreted(Francine that qualitativeanalysis can make. D. Blau, 1981). They also analyze issues Third, Gary Becker's (1981) "new home previouslyentirely neglected, or forced into economics,"extols the virtues of specializa- especially inappropriatemolds, and ques- tion within the family. This has been chal- tion much of the establisheddogma. Again lenged as a blatant justificationand rein- a few illustrationswill suffice. forcement of the status quo.3 The early First, the central characterof mainstream criticisms included Ferber and Bonnie G. economic analysis is the rational, au- Birnbaum (1977) and Isabel V. Sawhill tonomous agent who trades with others in (1977). Among other objections, they order to maximize a or profit func- charged that the dependence of the home- tion. He is the very image of the completely maker on the wage-earneris ignored, that autonomous man, independentof all natu- the image of the benevolent head of the ral needs and social influences, and the household is not always realistic, and that fundamentalquestion of economic theory is there is circularreasoning when neoclassical the investigationof how he makes choices economists claim that women specialize in in-a world of scarcity,given unlimited wants. housework because they earn less in the Even macroeconomistsnow tend to base labor market and then turn around to say their work on theories of the individual, that they earn less in the labor market be- rational agent. Feminists believe this per- cause they specialize in housework. spective contributeslittle to an analysis of oppressive institutions, and nothing to an understandingof caringservices, freely pro- 3Barbara R. Bergmann (1987 pp. 132-33) suggests that "to say that the 'new home economists' are not vided. Manyprefer a paradigm,harking back feminist in their orientation would be as much of an to 's (1776 [1986 p. 159]) pro- understatement as to say that Bengal tigers are not duction and distributionof all "the neces- vegetarians." 360 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 1995

Finally, Paula England (1982) forcefully Bergmann,Barbara R. "The Task of Feminist contested Solomon W. Polachek's (1976) Economics: A More Equitable Future," view of occupationalsegregation as the re- in Christie Farnham, ed., The impact of sult of voluntary,rational choices of women, feminist research in the academy. Bloom- pointing out that they are paid less at the ington: Indiana University Press, 1987, beginning of their career as well as re- pp. 131-47. wardedless for experience,and that there is Blank, Rebecca M. "What Should Main- no evidencethat interruptionsare penalized stream Economists Learn from Feminist more in other occupations, or that single Theory?" in Marianne A. Ferber and Julie women, who presumablyare far more likely A. Nelson, eds., Beyond economic man: to stay in the labor market,are less inclined Feminist theory and economics. Chicago: to choose traditionallyfemale occupations. University of Chicago Press, 1993, pp. Further, Myra H. Strober (1984); and 133-43. Barbara F. Reskin and Patricia A. Roos Blau, FrancineD. "On the Role of Values in (1990) offered an alternative explanation, Feminist Scholarship." Signs: Journal of which essentiallypoints out that women are Women in Culture and , Spring relegated to jobs that men do not want. 1981, 86(2), pp. 538-40. Again, instructorswho are constrainedby Blaug, Mark Economic theory in retrospect. the fact that they are expected to teach : Heinemann, 1962. enough of mainstreameconomics to enable Debreu, Gerard. "The Mathematization of those students who decide to go on to suc- Economic Theory." American Economic cessfully tackle more advanced courses, Review, March 1991, 81(1), pp. 1-7. nonetheless can make the course more in- Dolan, Edwin G. and Lindsay, David E. teresting to those who are not ready to . Chicago: Dryden, 1991. accept unquestioninglythe established or- England, Paula. "The Failure of thodoxy,and more challengingto those who Theory to Explain Occupational are ready to accept it, by followingthe pre- Sex Segregation." Journal of Human Re- sentation of the establishedorthodoxy with sources, Summer 1982, 17(3), pp. 358-70. a thoughtful and carefully presented cri- Ferber, Marianne A. and Birnbaum, Bonnie G. tique. "The New Home Economics: Retrospects and Prospects." Journal of Consumer Re- search, June 1977, 4(1), pp. 19-28. REFERENCES Jennings,Ann L. "Public or Private? Institu- tional Economics and Feminism," in Mar- Alford, Katrina. "What is a Nice Girl Like ianne A. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson, You Doing in a Place Like This? Gender eds., Beyond economic man: Feminist the- and Economics." Unpublished manuscript ory and economics. Chicago: University of presented at the "Out of the Margin" Chicago Press, 1993, pp. 111-29. Conference, Amsterdam, 1993. Krueger,Anne et al. "Report of the Commis- Anderson,Gordon; Benjamin, Dwayne and Fuss, sion on Graduate in Eco- Melwyn. "The Determinants of Success nomics." Journal of Economic Literature, in University Introductory Economics September 1991, 29(3), pp. 1035-53. Courses." Journal of Economic Educa- Leibenstein,Harvey. "Organizational or Fric- tion, Spring 1994, 25(2), pp. 99-119. tional Equilibria: X-Efficiency and the Becker, Gary S. A treatise on the family. Rate of Innovations." Quarterly Journal Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univeristy of Economics, November 1969, 83(4), pp. Press, 1981. 600-23. Berg, Helen M. and Ferber,Marianne A. "Men McCloskey,Donald N. "Some Consequences and Women Graduate Students: Who of a Conjective Economics," in Marianne Succeeds and Why2" Journal of Higher A. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson, eds., Be- Education, November-December 1983, yond economic man: Feminist theory and 54(2), pp. 629-41. economics. Chicago: University of Chicago 361 VOL. 85 NO. 2 RACE AND GENDER IN ECONOMICS 101

Press, 1993, pp. 69-93. Siegfried,John J. "Male-Female Differences Nelson, Julie A. "The Study of Choice or the in Economic Education: A Survey." Jour- Study of Provisioning? Gender and Defi- nal of Economic Education, Spring 1979, nition of Economics," in Marianne A. 10(2), pp. 1-11. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson, eds., Beyond Smith, Adam. The of nations. London: economic man: Feminist theory and eco- W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1776; excerpt nomics. Chicago: University of Chicago in Robert L. Heilbroner, ed., The essential Press, 1993, pp. 23-36. Adam Smith. New York: Norton, 1986. Parkin, Michael. Economics. Reading, MA: Solow,Robert M. The labor market as a social Addison-Wesley, 1990. institution. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, Polachek, Solomon W. "Occupational Segre- 1990. gation: An Alternative Hypothesis." Jour- Strassmann,Diana. "Not a : The nal of Contemporary Business, Winter Rhetoric of Disciplinary Authority in 1976, 5(1), pp. 1-12. Economics," in Marianne A. Ferber and Reskin, Barbara F. and Roos, Patricia A. Job Julie A. Nelson, eds., Beyond economic queues, gender queues. Philadelphia, PA: man: Feminist theory and economics. Temple University Press, 1990. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Rose, Hilary."Beyond the Masculinist Reali- 1993, pp. 54-68. ties: A Feminist Epistemology for the Sci- Strober,Myra H. "Toward a General Theory ences," in Ruth Bleier, ed., Feminist ap- of Occupational Sex Segregation," in proaches to . New York: Pergamon, Barbara F. Reskin, ed., Sex segregation in 1986. the workplace: Trends, explanations, reme- Saunders,Philip. "'The Influence of Gender, dies. Washington, DC: National Academy Nationality, Experience, and 'Warm-Up' Press, 1984, pp. 144-56. on Beginning Instruction Performance." Williams, Rhonda M. "Race, Deconstruction, Unpublished manuscript presented at the and the Emergent Agenda of Feminist Midwest Economics Association Meet- Economic Theoiy," in Marianne Ferber ings, Chicago, March 1994. and Julie A. Nelson, eds., Beyond eco- Sawhill,Isabel V. "Economic Perspectives on nomic man: Feminist theory and eco- the Family." Daedalus, Spring 1977, nomics. Chicago: University of Chicago 106(2), pp. 115-25. Press, 1993, pp. 144-52.