Evolution of U.S. Household Agency Over Stages of Capitalism
Abstract: We suggest ways to explore household agency over stages of capitalism as delineated by Hyman Minsky. We make a distinction between households as institutions and going concerns. Furthermore, we delineate two levels of household agency: (i) household going concerns operating through the institution of the household, and (ii) household going concerns operating through other institutions, such as the state and the business enterprise. Those layers of household agency are especially salient in money manager capitalism, where there is an illusionary agency for most households, and where actual agency increases mostly for those households that are able to operate as agents outside of the household institution.