ABSTRACT
The public at large often views economics as belonging to the domain of business and government policy directly related to the functioning of "the economy." Economics, however, can in reality be applied to any decision making process. Economists interpret the term "economics" as a conceptual framework that can be helpful any time a choice is made, be it the choice of a good, a service, an action, or a resource. The application of neo-classical economics to home-related subjects such as marriage, fertility, and consumption is referred to as New Home Economics. The New Home Economics approach was developed by Mincer (1962), Becker (1965), and Lancaster (1966), when they all taught at Columbia University. Their models were the first to incorporate household characteristics into formal models of labor force participation, consumption, or transportation. Because of Becker's central contribution and his move to the University of Chicago in the early seventies, the New Home Economics is part of what some people call the Columbia-Chicago School of Economics.
