A Theory of Child Adoption

Dirk Bethmann and Michael Kvasnicka

No 6689, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Women can bear own children or adopt them. Extending economic theories of fertility, we provide a first theoretical treatment of the demand for adoption. We show that the propensity to adopt a child increases in the degree of own altruism, infertility, relatedness to the child, costs of own child birth, and any adoption-specific monetary return that is received net of the costs of adopting the child. Our model makes several testable predictions which receive empirical support. These include a higher propensity to adopt among infertile adults, relatives, women with high earnings potential, and celebrities.

Keywords: children; fertility; demand for adoption; adoption; altruism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D02 J12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 12 pages
Date: 2012-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Journal of Economic Development, 2022, 47 (2), 101-114

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Journal Article: A Theory of Child Adoption (2022)
Working Paper: A Theory of Child Adoption (2012)
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