The Doctrine of the Separate Spheres in Political Economy and Economics

Gender Equality and Classical Liberalism

Giandomenica Becchio

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9783031512612
• eBook ISBN: 9783031512629
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Economic History
• Index: Economics

This book delves into the doctrine of separate spheres within the history of economic thought. The concept of separate spheres emerged in philosophy and has consistently been incorporated by various disciplines. This book stands as the first comprehensive exploration of how this doctrine was embraced, adapted, and contested by economists engaged in gender issues and marriage theory. Spanning the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, it illuminates the evolution of the drive for gender equality—rooted primarily in the tradition of classical liberalism—across the landscape of economic ideas and theories. This book is a valuable resource for scholars and researchers interested in the intricate history of the interconnections among between economic thought, feminism, gender studies, and cultural studies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction: The Doctrine of the Separate Spheres
• Part I. Escaping the Doctrine of the Separate Spheres (1700s–early 1900s): The Economists’ Points of View
• Part II. The Doctrine of the Separate Spheres Between Rebirth and Rejection (1920s–early 2000s): Marriage Theory in Economics
• Back Matter