Crust or crumb?: Intrahousehold resource allocation and male breadwinning in late Victorian Britain

Household budgets from a survey of industrial workers conducted in 1889/90 are used to investigate the gendered consequences for intrahousehold resource allocation of reliance on a male breadwinner. Many of these households suffered deprivation and would have had to make harsh choices about the distribution of goods between family members. But no straightforward link between potential economic contribution, as determined by job availability, and treatment of children is evident. Instead, a more complex interplay is indicated, with outside options and relative worth appearing to be crucial factors in determining the route from work to welfare.