Partner effects
Encyclopedia
Partner effects refer to the ways in which a spouse
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 or consensual mate influences the life of their significant other. More specifically, the effect a partner has on another's career and overall occupational status. In the past, less research had been done to observe the effects of spousal education and status position on one another because it had been assumed that the wife would adopt the husband’s status. Over the past few decades, however, opportunity for women in the workplace has increased dramatically giving them a larger role in overall family income and status. Women's expanded role has brought about many changes in the opportunities for families..

Time use and productivity

Partners often face time budget problems when both are working full time. Therefore, partners have to devise a plan to balance between paid and unpaid work. Unpaid work includes domestic work around the house, such as cooking and cleaning. Couples must decide how much time each person will spend in the labor force
Labor force
In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce, including both the employed and unemployed.Normally, the labor force of a country consists of everyone of working age In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce,...

 and how much time they will spend doing domestic work. Most often this decision is weighed by comparative advantage
Comparative advantage
In economics, the law of comparative advantage says that two countries will both gain from trade if, in the absence of trade, they have different relative costs for producing the same goods...

. While this is often the most productive way to reach a balance in time, it generally places women in the domestic work and men in the labor market.

Career opportunities

There are two possibilities that influence a partner’s career opportunities.

The first possibility is that the spouse will positively effect on the other's career. This often happens when one can use their partner’s social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...

 to better themselves in the labor market. Research has also found that married men tend to make more money and increase wages at a faster rate versus single men. Research suggests that when a man gains a new partner, he loses some of the domestic responsibilities and can put forth more energy toward his job. This gain in ability can be seen as a positive partner effect on a career opportunity.

The second possibility of a partner’s influence on a career opportunity is a negative effect. This means that by obtaining a spouse, one of the partners is now restricted in the labor force. This negative influence can be seen in the economic theory of comparative advantage
Comparative advantage
In economics, the law of comparative advantage says that two countries will both gain from trade if, in the absence of trade, they have different relative costs for producing the same goods...

. If it is more efficient for the husband to work in the labor force full-time and the wife to work at home full-time, it can be viewed as a negative effect on the wife’s career. Another example of a partner’s negative impact on career opportunity is when the family must move because of a job change. This is a common occurrence and can ultimately decrease the opportunities for career advancement in the new area. On the contrary, in some circumstances it can positively effect the partner and broaden their career outlook.

Labor effects on health

When viewing the effects of labor on health, one would assume that with more earnings
Earnings
Earnings are the net benefits of a Corporation's operation. Earnings is also the amount on which corporate tax is due. For an analysis of specific aspects of corporate operations several more specific terms are used as EBIT -- earnings before interest and taxes, EBITDA - earnings before...

, more can purchase advanced health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

. While this statement is true, there can also be other factors that affect the health care of workers and their spouses. Studies have shown that there can actually be a negative effect on people when their spouses work excessive amounts. According to Ross Stolzenberg, when a man’s wife works more than forty hours a week it shows largely negative affects on the husband. Strangely, women’s health on the other hand is generally not affected by the amount of hours their husband works.

See also

  • Family economics
    Family economics
    The family, although recognized as fundamental from Adam Smith on, received little systematic treatment in economics before the 1950s. A significant exception was Thomas Malthus's model of population growth. The work of Gary Becker and others initiated contemporary research on family economics ...

  • Double burden
    Double burden
    Double burden is a term describing the workload of men and women who work to earn money, but also have responsibility for unpaid, domestic labor. According to studies done dealing with a stressful environment chronically, such as a stressful job or household due to overwhelming responsibilities, is...

  • Material feminism
    Material feminism
    Material feminism examines the "material conditions under which social arrangements, including those of gender hierarchy, develop" It argues that "material conditions of all sorts play a vital role in the social production of gender"....

  • Gatekeeper parent
    Gatekeeper parent
    A gatekeeper parent, typically a mother, is one who takes to arrogating themselves the power to decide what relationship is acceptable between the other parent and the child, either within a marriage, or outside any formal agreement between the two parents was in place after a divorce...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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