A faded bluebook fell from the
pages of a magazine as I was flipping through it last night. Dated 19 January
1997, it was for a long exam in Economics 191. What’s written on the first page
caught my attention:
The decision to have children is an economic problem.
Childbearing can be viewed as an economic decision wherein children are
considered like any other good subjected to income and substitution effects.
Based on the microeconomic household theory of fertility, household demand for
children is determined by the couple’s preference for a target number of
surviving children.
The demand for children varies directly with income and prices of
alternative goods and varies inversely with the price of and taste for
children. The higher the household
income, the higher the demand for children; but the higher the net price
(money, time, opportunity costs) of children, the lower the quantity demanded.
If prices of alternative goods increase, couples will decide to have more
children; but if they have a stronger preference for other goods compared to
children, a lower demand for children will result. The combined effects of
income, prices and tastes, therefore, determine the quantity of children
demanded by a particular household.
Furthermore, couples choose the combination of goods and children that
will give them maximum satisfaction and yield more benefits than costs. It follows, therefore, that parents and
would-be parents are influenced by the benefits and costs accompanying
childrearing. Benefits can be either psychic, i.e. emotional aspects, or
economic, i.e. expected income from child labor and financial support for
elderly parents. Costs can also be classified as economic and psychic. Economic costs include monetary costs like
money spent on food and education as well as opportunity costs. One opportunity
cost of raising children is the opportunity cost of parents’ time, especially
that of mothers’, which can take the form of additional income they could have
earned if not taking care of their children.
I can’t help but laugh at how sober I sounded then. Did I really answer exams like this? What utter
nonsense, I thought. But as I continue
to ponder on what I wrote fifteen years ago, I realize that it does make a lot
of sense. Economic realities influence the decision to have children.
3 comments:
I agree. It is an economic decision. Huwag magka-anak if you can't support them.
I'm amazed you still have your bluebook. I'm wondering where I've placed mine.
A bit wordy and with waffle!
Having children teaches parents the value of sleep.
Any new arrival will effortlessly put priorities in order.
I'm going to have hubby read this piece :D
I have all my blue books in a yellow CID plastic bag.
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