Birth of Children as a Factor of Regressing of Socio-Economic Status of the Family

Abstract

This article deals with the results of a study of the impact of the birth of children on the socio-economic status of the family. Public and scientific discourse recognizes the essential role of the economic factor in the decision to give birth to a certain number of children before the event itself. However, there are a small number of works that evaluate already implemented reproductive attitudes to change the socio-economic status of the family. The authors examined the well-known theoretical foundations of the “economic theory of fertility” by G. Becker and R. Easterlin, “demographic transition” by F. W. Notеstein and other foreign and domestic researchers in relation to the transformation of the current situation of fertility processes in Russia. The study revealed a more complex relationship between fertility and the socio-economic status of the family, which had a regressive characterin this study. It is shown that the birth of children in modern socio-economic conditionsin Russia worsens family satisfaction with their financial situation, depending on the number of children and form the potential of the poor population. In addition of thisit develops a shortage of funds, and also accelerates the degradation of housing conditions at a higher rate in families with a large number of children. An important conclusion of the study to clarify the scope and directions of socio-demographic policy in Russia and in other countries experiencing similar problems is the conclusion that the appearance of each child in a family worsens its socio-economic status by 10-30%.