Family Economics Writ Large
79 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2017 Last revised: 16 Feb 2022
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Family Economics Writ Large
Family Economics Writ Large
Family Economics Writ Large
Date Written: January 2017
Abstract
Powerful currents have reshaped the structure of families over the last century. There has been (i) a dramatic drop in fertility and greater parental investment in children; (ii) a rise in married female labor-force participation; (iii) a significant decline in marriage and a rise in divorce; (iv) a higher degree of positive assortative mating; (v) more children living with a single mother; (vi) shifts in social norms governing premarital sex and married women's roles in the workplace. Macroeconomic models explaining these aggregate trends are surveyed. The relentless flow of technological progress and its role in shaping family life are stressed.
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