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Children as Public Goods

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Children as Public Goods
Author(s)Folbre, Nancy
AbstractThe motives for raising children have historically been influenced by values, norms, and preferences. However children have now come to be seen in economic terms as an increasingly public good and parents as an increasingly public service. Economists have difficulty placing children into a neat category. At times, they have been described as consumer durables, investment goods, and public goods with both positive and negative externalities. This article suggests that family policy has important macroeconomic implications and seeks to analyze how the consequences of raising children are now changing. The main topics discussed include economic development and the cost of raising children, public finance and unpaid labor, and new directions for family policy.
Pages86-90
IssueNo1
ArticleAccess to Article Summary Article
SourceAmerican Economic Review
VolumeNo84
PubDateMay 1994
ISBN_ISSN0002-8282

Frontier Issues in Economic Thought

  • Volume 1: A Survey of Ecological Economics
  • Volume 2: The Consumer Society
  • Volume 3: Human Well-Being and Economic Goals
  • Volume 4: The Changing Nature of Work
  • Volume 5: The Political Economy of Inequality
  • Volume 6: A Survey of Sustainable Development


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