On private incentives to acquire household production skills

In non-cooperative family models, being; good at contributing to family pub lic goods like household production may reduce one's utility, since it tend s to crowd out contributions from one's spouse. Similar effects also arise in cooperative models with non-cooperative threat point: improved contribut ion productivity entails loss of bargaining power. This strategic effect mu st be traded against the benefits of household production skills, in terms of increased consumption possibilities. Since cooperation involves extensiv e specialization, incentives to acquire household production skills are str ikingly asymmetric, with the one not specializing in household production h aving strong disincentives for household skill acquisition.