ABSTRACT
If production is to be defined as the costly generation of utility (which is how economics texts define it), professional comedians are producers. But what about the friend who makes us laugh around the dinner table? The textbook rules her out of the set of producers because her jokes do not cost her anything, unlike the professional comedian who had to give up other moneymaking ventures in order to stand up in front of the audience. So, it turns out that, according to (neoclassical) economics, for a comedian to be recognised as a production worker, she must produce laughter at personal cost. Interesting. But what of the mother who tries to make her sick child laugh? Is this work? Or is it a form of consumption (e.g. the enjoyment of motherhood)?
