The Cost of Children When Children are a Choice
Labour: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations, Vol. 14, Issue 1, March 2000
Posted: 20 Jun 2001
Abstract
The standard methods of measuring the cost of children are flawed because of the endogeneity of fertility decisions and because - even if they were exogenous - children bring (or may bring) utility to the household. This paper presents a simple structural model of household allocation of time and income to "children's (quantity and quality) production." From the estimates one can compute the cost of children as the market value of resources devoted to children. Some policy simulations illustrate the relevance of accounting for the endogeneity of children.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Colombino, Ugo, The Cost of Children When Children are a Choice. Labour: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations, Vol. 14, Issue 1, March 2000, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=243098
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