[1] The idea was introduced simultaneously into macroeconomics in two separate papers by Jess Benhabib, Richard Rogerson, and Randall Wright (1991);[2] and Jeremy Greenwood and Zvi Hercowitz (1991).
[3] Household production theory has been used to explain the rise in married female labor-force participation over the course of the 20th century, as the result of labor-saving appliances.
For example, consumers can now convert plastic wire into high-value products with inexpensive 3-D printers in their own homes.
The consumer purchases flour, eggs, and sugar and then uses labor, know-how, time and other resources producing a cake.
The consumer did not really want the flour, sugar, or eggs, but purchased them to produce the cake for consumption (instead of buying it, e.g., from a bakery).