Parenting with Style: Altruism and Paternalism in Intergenerational Preference Transmission

Fabrizio Zilibotti and Matthias Doepke

No 10029, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We develop a theory of intergenerational transmission of preferences that rationalizes the choice between alternative parenting styles (as set out in Baumrind 1967). Parents maximize an objective function that combines Beckerian altruism and paternalism towards children. They can affect their children's choices via two channels: either by influencing children's preferences or by imposing direct restrictions on their choice sets. Different parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive) emerge as equilibrium outcomes, and are affected both by parental preferences and by the socioeconomic environment. Parenting style, in turn, feeds back into the children's welfare and economic success. The theory is consistent with the decline of authoritarian parenting observed in industrialized countries, and with the greater prevalence of more permissive parenting in countries characterized by low inequality.

Keywords: Intergenerational preference transmission; Occupational choice; Parenting style; Paternalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D10 J10 O10 O40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (46)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Parenting with Style: Altruism and Paternalism in Intergenerational Preference Transmission (2014)
Working Paper: Parenting with Style: Altruism and Paternalism in Intergenerational Preference Transmission (2014)
Working Paper: Parenting with Style: Altruism and Paternalism in Intergenerational Preference Transmission (2014)
Working Paper: Parenting with Style: Altruism and Paternalism in Intergenerational Preference Transmission (2012)
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