How Can Economics Help Us Explain Parenting?

Matthias Doepke
Profile Picture of - Matthias Doepke

Matthias Doepke

Abstract information

The choices that we make as parents are among the most important that we make in our lifetimes: whether to have children, how many children to have, what form of education should we provide. In this video, MATTHIAS DOEPKE explains how the economic method can help us to understand the choices that parents make. Economic factors clearly constrain parental choice and, drawing on the concept of parenting style developed in psychology, the research demonstrates a striking degree of alignment between different parenting styles and the degree of economic inequality in a society. Doepke’s work on the economics of parenting is highly relevant not only to how we might improve social mobility but also to the design of education systems and labor markets.

Researcher

Matthias Doepke is Professor of Economics at Northwestern University (USA). He has previously worked at the University of Munich and UCLA. Doepke’s main research interests include economic growth and development, family economics and the redistributional effects of inflation. Holding Research Fellowships from the Center for Economic Policy Research and Germany’s IZA (Institut zur Zukunft der Arbeit), Doepke is also a Consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Editor of the Review of Economic Dynamics, Doepke’s book (with Fabrizio Zilibotti), Love, Money, and Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way We Raise Our Kids, was published by Princeton University Press in 2019.

Institution information

Northwestern University, Illinois

Northwestern University is a premier private research institution with a main lakeside campus in Evanston and a professional campus in downtown Chicago. Established in 1851, it is known for a rigorous “Purple Pride” culture and a unique quarter-based academic calendar that encourages students to explore multiple disciplines.

The university is a global leader in journalism, management, and the performing arts, while its engineering and medical schools drive high-impact research in nanotechnology and biosciences. A hallmark of student life is the 240-acre Evanston campus, which features a blend of gothic architecture and modern facilities along Lake Michigan. Currently, the university is undergoing a major physical transformation with the construction of the new Ryan Field stadium and a state-of-the-art engineering research building.

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Original Publication

Love, Money, and Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way We Raise Our Kids

Matthias Doepke,

Fabrizio Zilibotti

Published in

Book Recommendation

Theory of Value: An Axiomatic Analysis of Economic Equilibrium

Gerard Debreu

Theory of Value offers a rigorous, axiomatic, and formal analysis of producer behavior, consumer behavior, general equilibrium, and the optimality of the market mechanism for resource allocation.

Citation

Matthias Doepke, 

Latest Thinking, 

How Can Economics Help Us Explain Parenting?, 

Credits:

© Matthias Doepke 

and Latest Thinking

This work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0