Portrait of the Family Within the Total Economy

Book excerpt: The household sector is the forgotten economy of the Western world. Yet it is an institution that has always played a central role in the operation of economic systems, and in the way these systems have changed through time. This book, which focuses on the Australian case, looks at the role of the household economy in the process of economic change. It considers the household within the context of the total economy and also identifies and analyses longrun dynamic processes in Western society since the Industrial Revolution. This is the first attempt to analyse the dynamics of the total economy over such a long period of time. Soundly based on new estimates of household and market economic activity for Australia, the book challenges accepted theoretical and empirical notions in this area. Professor Snooks' pioneering book makes an important contribution to economics, economic measurement and economic history.