Family Economics Writ Large

Jeremy Greenwood, Nezih Guner and Guillaume Vandenbroucke

No 2016-26, Working Papers from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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 relent-less flow of technological progress and its role in shaping family life are stressed.

Keywords: Assortative mating; baby boom; baby bust; family economics; female labor supply; fertility; household income inequality; household production; human capital; macroeconomics; marriage and divorce; quality-quantity tradeoff; premarital sex; quantitative theory; single mothers; social change; survey paper; technological progress; women’s rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D1 E2 J1 O1 O4 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 79 pages
Date: 2016-11-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Family Economics Writ Large (2017)
Working Paper: Family Economics Writ Large (2017)
Working Paper: Family Economics Writ Large (2017)
Working Paper: Family Economics Writ Large (2017)
Working Paper: Family Economics Writ Large (2016)
Working Paper: Family Economics Writ Large (2016)
Working Paper: Family Economics Writ Large (2015)
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DOI: 10.20955/wp.2016.026

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