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Strollerderby
Sorry, Bryan Caplan. You may think there’s a compelling economic argument for having a big family, but people aren’t buying it.
Literally. A column in the New York Times makes the case that children are what economists call “inferior goods”. The richer people become, the less of them they want. This is the opposite of most things. In general, the more resources you have, the more of something you want to acquire.
But there are some goods, “inferior goods”, that people buy less of as they become richer. Rice is the example given in the article. Once you can afford other food, you buy less rice.
Similarly, the wealthier a country or individual becomes, the fewer children they tend to have.
Does twin research prove big families are better?
Last week, I wrote about economist Bryan Caplan’s belief that parents are “overcharging” ourselves for our children.
Caplan’s message to parents is that kids are cheaper than we think, because nurture matters less than we believe. If our ability to shape our children’s destiny is essentially nil, he reasons, we should all just chill out. Once we’ve abandoned the project of trying to individually craft perfection in each of our kids, they become less resource intensive. This makes them effectively cheaper, so why not have more?
As Caplan put it, “When you learn that something you want is cheaper than you thought, both common sense and basic economics tell you to buy more.” In this case, he’s advocating that parents “buy” more kids, and then just kick back and enjoy them without all the tedious work of high maintenance helicopter parenting.
Even if we accept that nurture has little impact on kids, as Caplan’s study of twin research suggests, does his argument for having more make sense? Economists debate both sides in the Wall Street Journal.
What would make you have more kids?
Kids are cheap! Stock up! Have lots! Tell your friends!
That’s the message from economist Bryan Caplan, whose new book Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids makes the case for bigger families.
In a nutshell, Caplan believes that parents are “overcharging” themselves for their children by buying into intensive parenting standards for attachment parenting, quality time and enriched home environments. The kids are all right, Caplan says. And it they’re not, there’s not much you can do about it. So have a bunch, and have fun with it.
Caplan is using economics to assess parenting, and coming up with some pretty surprising conclusions.
Researcher Deborah Tannen gave an explanation yesterday in The New York Times for the recent studies that say having sisters makes us happier.
The usual explanation is that women talk about feelings more, which should make their siblings feel happier and more supported.
But she points to her own studies that show feeling-talk doesn’t matter, it’s just the act of talking that counts. Girls may be more likely to talk frequently, and simply being in contact with someone (even just keeping them company when you’re not explicitly talking about their emotions or how they’re doing) is good for people’s health and happiness.
Thalia A-M Bruehl wrote a really lovely piece about family size for Babble yesterday that touches on how sisters bring happiness to the family. Bruehl was 13-years-old when her family adopted a 19-year-old girl, so she has the unique perspective of knowing what it’s like to be an only child, and then to have a sister come into her life.
Having been on both sides of the only child versus siblings debate, how many kids does she say she wants for her own family in the future? Continue reading »
The folks at WalletPop UK, noting that a survey commissioned by the Optimum Population Trust indicates that nearly a third of people in the UK would support a cap on the number of kids a couple can have, took a look at the financial implications of family size. Their conclusion? Although kids are expensive and do cost the taxpayers money, they do pay that back when they become adults and begin paying taxes. Furthermore, the author notes that at some point in the future, the current crop of parents will be grandparents (Get off my lawn!) and we will need those kids to support us and care for us.
Continue reading »
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