African family - household : a behavioral model

The central argument is that the family-household is the key decisionmaking unit in Africa today, more significant in both social and economic terms than either larger kin and social groups or than the individual acting alone. Chapter one seeks to define the African family-household and discusses the basis for the theoretical model. Contemporary and historical frameworks of decisionmaking for the family-household are discussed in Chapter two. Chapter three presents a review of the theoretical foundations for use in this context of a research model based on both organizational behavioral theory and economic principles. Chapter four presents the model itself; discussion is given to the social and economic structure of the family-household, the process of economic decisionmaking, the production function, and relations between the family-household and the external economy. In Chapter five, the model is applied to Mossi family-households in Burkina Faso, and its application to development planning is discussed in a final chapter. A 33-page bibliography is appended.