Studying economic decisions within private households: A critical review and design for a “couple experiences diary”

Abstract

This article focuses on dynamics of economic decisions within private households. A review of the available literature on household decision making shows that it is important to investigate whether or not the history of past decisions influences ongoing decisions. Moreover, interaction processes between partners should be studied by analyzing tactics which partners use to influence each other. In order to realize these aims it is necessary to understand economic decisions as processes which are embedded in the everyday affairs within the household. Before, during and after an economic decision a series of activities occur between partners all of which may have an impact on the dynamics of economic decision making. This conceptualization of economic decisions at home calls for a specific technique that allows us to capture daily routines in full, or at least those decision processes which proceed simultaneously to a specific economic decision. The couple experiences diary seems to be the appropriate technique. Since it is hypothesized that the influence of a partner depends strongly on his or her influence in the past, it is necessary to take account of both economic and non-economic decisions over a long period of time. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the regulation of influence depends on the quality of the relationship and power structure. Besides the diary a set of tests must therefore be applied to measure relationship quality and power differences between the spouses.