Families in Macroeconomics

A More Measured Approach: An Evaluation of Different Measures of Marriage Rates and Implications for Family Economics

“…In this section, we provide three concrete suggestions. Given the expanding interest in economic drivers and consequences of marriage decisions [e.g., see recent review pieces by Stevenson and Wolfers (2007) and Greenwood et al (2017)], and calls for making studies of family formation and household decision-making a more integral part of research in macroeconomics [e.g., see the recent handbook chapter by Doepke and Tertilt (2016)], we believe this discussion is particularly timely.…”

“…1Some examples of studies in the marriage literature are Akers (1967), Becker (1973), Cherlin (1981), Schoen (1983), Ellwood and Crane (1990), Lichter et al (1992), Akerlof et al (1996), Oppenheimer (1997), Goldstein and Kenney (2001), Goldin and Katz (2002), Angrist (2002), Sweeney (2002), Jalovaara (2003), Stevenson and Wolfers (2007), Greenwood and Guner (2009), Abramitzky et al (2011), Myers (2017), Greenwood et al (2017), Doepke and Tertilt (2016), and Bronson and Mazzocco (2016). …”

“…The findings of this paper are important for economists because marriage patterns have been shown to have significant implications for relevant variables such as fertility rates, children’s welfare, labor force participation, income inequality, and the fraction of individuals on government aid, among many others 2 . Indeed, in recent years, interest in the economic drivers and consequences of marriage decisions has grown substantially [e.g., see recent review pieces by Stevenson and Wolfers (2007) and Greenwood et al (2017)], with calls to make studies of family formation and household decision-making a more integral part of economic research [Doepke and Tertilt (2016)]. However, drivers and consequences of changing marriage patterns can be well understood only if researchers employ measures of marriage rates that are appropriate for the question asked.…”

The home: multidisciplinary reflections

“…+ Motivation. The decision-making processes within the home impact on the production of goods and services, labor supply, investment, consumption and savings, and also on fertility and many other aspects (Doepke and Tertilt, 2016). The plethora of varied and changing human motivations can be grouped in three main blocs: extrinsic, in which the agent (the home and its members) is driven by the external outcome of the action; intrinsic, in which the agents are driven by expected outcome of their actions on themselvesactions that they themselves originate (acquisition of knowledge and abilities, satisfaction); and transcendent or prosocial, in which the agents are driven by the results of their decisions on others (Argandoña, 2008;Pérez López, 1993).…”

Macroeconomía y conciliación familiar: el impacto económico de los jardines infantiles

“…En relación con la decisión de trabajar que toman las familias, existen numerosos estudios que analizan los efectos macroeconómicos de ella. Un resumen detallado se encuentra en Doepke y Tertilt (2016), el cual mues-tra que las decisiones dentro de la familia han tenido importantes efectos en la oferta de trabajo y el ahorro en el corto y mediano plazos. A modo de ejemplo, Greenwood et al (2005) encuentran que, si bien un aumento de los salarios reales reduce la fertilidad y aumenta la participación (véase también Cardia y Gomme, 2014), el progreso tecnológico, en el sector de los hogares, reduce el costo de tener hijos, aumenta la fertilidad y aumenta también la participación laboral (en específico, Greenwood et al, 2016).…”