Economic Exchange and Relational Work within Doubled-up Households

• In Event: 3148 - Unconventional Support and Care

Abstract

Doubling-up, or sharing a home, is an important private safety net. In addition to providing needy families with housing assistance, doubling-up often also economically benefits householders, as guests frequently contribute towards household expenses. Drawing on over 187 in-depth interviews with 64 doubled-up parents, this study examines how families negotiate and contest economic arrangements within shared households. I find that successful intra-household economic exchange depends not only on the amount exchanged, but also the shared meanings behind such exchanges. Though guests expect to make some material or in-kind contribution to the householder in return for housing, exchanges become contentious when household members disagree about the extent to which their relationship is social or economic. The absence of institutionalized expectations regarding doubled-up household relationships leaves members free to draw upon competing norms depending on their self-interest, framing the household either as a family-like solidarity unit or market-like direct exchange. However, such conflict is mitigated by greater institutionalization of household relationships – as in multigenerational households – and by clear negotiation of exchange relationships prior to doubling-up. Economic arrangements and disputes reveal how doubled-up parents understand their household relationships, help explain the instability of doubled-up households, and contain insights about the conditions under which money either damages or sustains social ties.

Author

• Hope Harvey, Harvard University