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Love in the Time of Neo-Liberalism

Gender, Work, and Power in a Costa Rican Marriage

Utah State University

Households around the world have shifted structurally from a breadwinner/homemaker model to dual-income earning arrangements. What this trend means for marital power has been a contested issue among scholars. Most studies suggest that household power is determined by a complex interplay between each spouse's economic contributions to the household and existing gender norms. Few scholars, however, have examined how this interplay is worked out under particular political-economic conditions. Responding to the dearth of research on the developing world in this area, the author examines a community in Costa Rica where neo-liberal economic restructuring has led to an increase in women's informal work and a decrease in men's income-earning power. Drawing from ethnographic and interview data on married life in Costa Rica, the author analyzes the effect that these trends have on marital power and the division of household labor. The author argues that changing economic circumstances may blur the traditional gender boundaries in Costa Rican households but they do not necessarily erase them.

Key Words: women's employment • informal work • marital power • gender relations • domestic wor

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