Resources and Decision-Making in Households

Question 1

What are the 2 types of money management?

Answer 1

The allowance system:
–men give their wives an allowance out of which they have to budget to meet the family’s needs, with the man retaining any surplus income for himself

Pooling:
–where both partners have access to income and joint responsibility for expenditure. Most common money management system

Question 2

Inequalities in finance systems and decision making within families

Answer 2

Pahl + Vogler – even when there is pooling, men usually made the major, financial decisions
(Edgell):
-Very important but infrequent decisions made by the husband (e.g change of job)
-Important decisions made jointly by husband + wife (e.h where to go on holiday)
-Less important and frequent decisions made by the wife (e.g children’s clothes)
—Edgell argues males have more power in decision making because they tend to make more money, so females are dependent on them and have less say
—Feminists argue that it is not due to inequalities in earnings but rather due to the patriarchal society we live in where men being the decision makers is deeply instilled in both m + w through gender role socialisation