Laurence Moss wrote:   
> If Becker helps us understanding certain events or the   
> broad shape of phenomena in the real world  
  
That certainly is one of the key questions being raised,  
when it comes to economics of the family. See e.g.  
http://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/femeco/v1y1995i1p141-150.html  
  
or for an empirical treatment  
http://ideas.repec.org/p/tud/ddpiec/143.html  
  
Cheers,  
  
Alan Isaac