Parental subsidies: The argument from insurance

Paul Bou-Habib

Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 2013, vol. 12, issue 2, 197-216

Abstract: This article develops the argument that the state must provide parental subsidies if, and to the extent that, individuals would, under certain specified hypothetical conditions, purchase ‘insurance cover’ that would provide the funds they need for adequate childrearing. I argue that most citizens would sign up to an insurance scheme, in which they receive a guarantee of a means-tested parental subsidy in return for an obligation to pay a progressive income tax to fund the scheme. This argument from insurance bolsters the weaker case that proponents of parental subsidies might offer were they to rely exclusively on arguments from fair play and efficiency.

Keywords: parental subsidies; the costs of childrearing; insurance; Dworkin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:pophec:v:12:y:2013:i:2:p:197-216

DOI: 10.1177/1470594X12447789

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