A radical bargaining approach, the Sisyphus Syndrome paradigm, is offered as an alternative to the neoclassical treatment of women's labor force participation and divorce incidence. In this paradigm, women who do not participate in the wage system remain in marriages because of the dearth of viable alternatives. The results from a simultaneous equation model, using data from first and second marriages, support the Sisyphus Syndrome paradigm, and offer a more realistic alternative to the traditional treatments of family behavior.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Amemiya, Takeshi.1981. Qualitative Response Models: A Survey. Journal of Economic Literature19: 1483-1495.
2.
Becker, Gary S.1974. A Theory of Marriage: Part II. Journal of Political Economy82: S11-26.
3.
. 1981. A Treatise on the FamilyCambridge : Harvard University Press.
4.
Becker, Gary S., Elisabeth M. Landes and RobertT. Michael.1977. An Economic Analysis of Marital Instability. Journal of Political Economy85: 1141-87.
5.
Dow, Gregory K.1988. Non-Cooperative Bargaining in the Theory of the Firm: Some Recent Developments. Review of Radical Political Economics20: 171-176.
6.
Greene, William H. and Aline O. Quester .1982. Divorce Risk and Wives' Labor Supply Behavior. Social Science Quarterly63: 16-27.
7.
Heath, Julia A.1990. Non-Employed Women, Marriage and the Sisphyus Syndrome . Journal of Economic Issues14: 103-114.
8.
_. 1991. The Probability of Divorce, Labor Force Participation, and Wages: A Simultaneous-Equation Model. In, Handbook of Behavioral Economics. Roger Frantz, Harinder Singh, and James Gerber (eds.). pp. 107-123. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
9.
Heckman, James.1979. Sample Selectivity Bias as Specification Error. Econometrica47: 153-162.
10.
Huber, Joan and Glenna Spitze. 1980. Considering Divorce: An Expansion of Becker's Theory of Marital Instability. American Journal of Sociology86: 75-89.
11.
Johnson, William R. and Jonathan Skinner .1986. Labor Supply and Marital Separation. American Economic Review76: 455-69.
12.
McCrate, Elaine.1987. Trade, Merger and Employment: Economic Theory on Marriage . Review of Radical Political Economics19: 73-89.
13.
McDonald, John F. and Robert A. Moffitt .1980. The Uses of Tobit Analysis . The Review of Economics and Statistics62: 318-21.
14.
Sander, William.1985. Women, Work and Divorce. American Economic Review75: 519-23.
15.
Seiz, Janet A.1991. The Bargaining Approach and Feminist Methodology. Review of Radical Political Economics23: 22-29.
16.
Skillman, Gil.1988. Bargaining and Replacement in Capitalist Firms. Review of Radical Political Economics20: 177-183.
17.
_. 1991. Efficiency vs. Control: A Strategic Bargaining Analysis of Capitalist Production. Review of Radical Political Economics23: 12-21.