Showing papers on "Family economics published in 1988"

Family economics and macro behavior.

Abstract: In this 1987 presidential address to the American Economic Association the author explores the contributions of the field of family economics to macroeconomic analysis. The focus is on family behavior as an active endogenous factor that both affects and is affected by the evolution of the economy. "Much of the time is spent on long-term economic growth although I also discuss short and long cycles in economic activity and the interaction between overlapping generations through Social Security transmission of inequality and in other ways....Many conclusions in these and presumably other macro areas change radically when family choices get the attention they deserve." (EXCERPT)

Is the Asian family planning program model suited to Africa

Abstract: This paper examines four Asian countries where fertility declines between the early 1960s and early 1980s ranged from 29 to 57 percent and contrasts their situations with seven African countries where fertility either remained constant or rose. It is shown that the difference is not explained by the African countries being at an earlier stage of socioeconomic development nor by the failure to provide family planning programs. The explanation is a lack of African demand for limiting family size, the result of family structures and economies quite different from Asia, and of essentially religious attitudes toward fertility that have an impact both on family economics and the acceptability of various forms of fertility control. These attitudes, together with the nature of the African state, mean that governments could not implement the forceful family planning policies that have at times characterized the programs of China, India, and Indonesia.

Taxes and the time allocation patterns of married women with children: cross‐cultural comparisons between the United States and Canada

Abstract: It is widely recognized in the family economics literature that the structure of an income tax system affects labour supply. This paper examines and contrasts the effects of U.S. and Canadian tax policies on one particular group: married women with children. Using a household production model of time allocation, it is initially argued that U. S. tax policies promote market work for this group, while Canadian tax policies discourage market work for similar women. What is found is that Canadian women display weaker labour force attachment than American women and they spend more time in home production activities. These effects are consistent with initial predictions.