David Cheal

The Social Dimensions of Gift Behaviour

This article describes in general terms the social dimensions of valuable interpersonal gifts at Christmas, and draws certain comparisons with giving to community organizations. The data are drawn from a random sample survey of 573 adult respondents in Winnipeg, Canada. Three classes of factors that structure gift behaviour are identified. They are: interaction processes within personal relationships; economic resources; and social statuses. The relational significance of gifts is particularly evident where one gift is matched by a return gift in a process of gift exchange or reciprocity. It is shown that reciprocal giving is a prominent feature of valuable Christmas gift transactions. As expected, personal income, household income, and the proportion of household income spent on housing all have some effect on the level of gift expenditure. However, no evidence is found to support the hypothesis from the functionalist theory of the extended family that valuable Christmas gifts are used for the intergenerational redistribution of wealth. It is also noted that there is little evidence to support Veblens views of gift behaviour as conspicuous consumption. Social statuses, in the form of kinship and gender positions, affect the directions in which gifts flow. The majority of valuable Christmas gifts are given to primary kin, with transactions between husbands and wives being the most important. It is found that gift transfers between the sexes are asymmetric, with men giving more and women receiving more.

Unity and Difference in Postmodern Families

It is argued here that recent changes in families require us to rethink the standard model of family change, initiated by Burgess, as disorganization/reorganization. The dominant image of family life in standard sociological theory was summarized by Burgess in his influential definition of the family as “a unity of interacting persons.” Yet Burgesss studies of families in the 1920s, in fact, revealed two contrasting patterns of relationships. He referred to them as “the highly integrated family” and the “unintegrated or loosely integrated family.” Burgesss devalorization of the latter is described as being typical of theories of the modern family. In the 1980s and 1990s, sociological attention has increasingly turned toward concepts of divergence and difference. It is recommended that these issues be brought into sharper focus in theories of the postmodern family. Some suggestions are made for a research agenda from this emergent perspective.

Changing Household Financial Strategies: Canadian Couples Today

In Canada, there has been a marked increase in the relative frequency of dual earner families, and especially of dual career families, compared to breadwinner/homemaker families. Effects of this change on the handling of incomes inside the household are examined here. In this paper, quantitative survey data and qualitative data on strategies of financial management are described and analyzed for co-resident couples in Winnipeg. Findings are presented on control over income, financial possession, and access to household money. These findings are interpreted as evidence of a shift in the form of companionate marriage toward greater equality of economic agency. It is suggested that the most common household financial strategy among Canadian couples today is that of flexible shares.

Theories of Serial Flow in Intergenerational Transfers

Recent improvements in the economic position of the elderly population necessitate a more thorough understanding of the serial flow of economic supports from preceding to succeeding generations. Five theories which might extend our understanding of the decision rules employed in intergenerational transfers are discussed. They are: social exchange theory, the kin selection theory of altruism, human capital theory, social constructivist theory, and rational transfers theory. The underlying assumptions of these theories are presented and compared, and models of intergenerational transactions are developed. Comparative studies are recommended in order to gain deeper insights into the relative strengths and weaknesses of these different views of relationships between the generations.

Poor and dependent seniors in Canada

The economic status and problems of seniors, people aged 55–64 years, have been neglected, particularly those of women. Following a summary of government policy in Canada regarding income transfers, this paper reports upon an analysis of data from the 1993 national Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics. Attention is given to relative poverty and financial dependence within households, as types of economic constraint. Both are higher among seniors than either the middle aged or the elderly. Senior women are the most likely to be dependent. The implications of these findings for future fiscal policy are discussed. It is concluded that more attention in gerontology needs to be given to this age group.

Rule-Governed Behaviour

A problem which occurs quite frequently in the social sciences, in one form or another, is that of deciding whether or not the behaviour of some collection of people is governed by a rule, or a set of rules.’ We want to know if their behaviour is best described in that way rather than any other, and the decision we make will often have important implications for the type of theory that we feel confident in advancing to explain their actions. Any such decision is based upon

Complementarity in the labor supply of husbands and wives

Abstract This paper explores selected aspects of economic theory for understanding one aspect of labor supply, namely complementarity of employment between husbands and wives. Special attention is paid to Gary Beckers account of family economics. Predictions derived from Beckers approach, as well as other hypotheses, are tested on data drawn from the 1992 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Of the hypotheses tested here, Beckers application of neoclassical theory is found to be the most useful. However, very little of the variation in employment between husbands and wives is explained. The main conclusion drawn is that specialized or complementary labor supply among married couples is largely insensitive to rates of return on labor. Possible implications of this finding are discussed.