Yuvnal Yonay says:  
<Going back to Becker, if I recall correctly, one of his claims was that  
minor  
differences between the spouses in terms of household duties justifies the  
specialization of men in labor market employment and women's specialization  
in  
cooking and diaper changing. This is perfect from neoclassical standpoint,  
but  
the question is what happens if the spouses decide to separate. In such a  
case,  
women are left stranded (and this is just one problem). Of course, it can be  
argued that Becker's model is just a starting point. One can now build a  
model  
(perhaps one has already been published) analyzing women's decisions and  
taking  
into consideration her assessment of separation (with full information about  
husband's tastes, sexual liaisons etc., or missing information), risk  
aversions, discount rates etc. etc. And then, after dozens of published  
articles in A level journals and dozens of years, reach the conclusion that  
women might be better-off with outside employment even if it is not the most  
efficient for the household in the short term.  
  
Surprisingly, such a conclusin has already been reached by feminists and  
published in the 70s, although not in an A level Econ journal. Now the  
question  
is why Becker has not considered such a scenario in his famous  
article, although nobody denies he is smart enough to think about it, and  
why  
most economists of the family have prefered his stories over those numerous  
stories published by feminists (based on ethnographic work, in-depth  
interviews,  
textual analyses) in A level journals in sociology, cultural  
studies, anthropology, psychology, political science etc. And why should  
feminists be interested in using economics tools when they use other tools  
that  
supply them with more vital answers even in questions about the economy.>  
  
  
  
In response, I would say that the division of labor and specialization  
according to comparative advantage are part of economic theory proper and  
have no cultural or gender implications.  Application of the theory to  
explain the division of duties within the family and to suggest a particular  
family organization is part history and part policy.  Feminist contributions  
to the history application phase are certainly worth attention.  
  
Sam Bostaph