Books by Nancy Folbre

“It’s a work of economic history—it looks at everybody from Ricardo, Mathus, Marx, all those ‘brand’ economists, and how they have approached the question of women in the economy. We see that the idea of what was ‘right’ for women to be doing in the economy developed over time. What you see is you go from, I think, a fairly sincere desire to figure out how women and resources and population work together to produce wealth or poverty in a national. But later you get into the kind of neoclassical period of the 1950s, they dismiss women who work in the home as quote-unquote ‘unproductive’; I’ve seen some of the studies where they would categorise unpaid work, such as in the home, as ‘leisure’, as if it required no effort. It’s a very readable book, and you see the progression of thinking that leads up to the present moment.” Read more...

The best books on Gender Inequality

Linda Scott, Economist