ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the household as an economic unit and makes the argument that although the household is the foundation of the economic system, it does not stand alone and unaided. The theoretical review herein relates the home, family, gender, and age with the circulation of goods and services in order to clarify the inner workings of the home and the ways in which it links up with wider spheres. Toward this end, four theoretical models are presented along with descriptions taken from ethnographic works on the Andes.
