Value of Children and the social production of welfare

Abstract

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe paper describes the origins of the of (VOC) approach to the cross-cultural research on fertility behavior around the Pacific Rim, and critically discusses its shortcomings at this stage.OBJECTIVEThe paper then demonstrates how the approach derives its theoretical coherence from the theory of social production functions, making reference to empirical evidence.RESULTSThe VOC approach combines a multi-level and action-oriented theoretical model of generative behavior based on the principles of methodological individualism with the welfare maximizing assumptions derived from social production function theory, to create a comprehensive explanatory program.CONCLUSIONSThe VOC approach extends economic theories of fertility: Whereas traditional economic theories emphasize the costs of children, the VOC approach also encompasses the supply side of children, i.e., the benefits bring to their (potential) parents under variable social and economic conditions.COMMENTSThe paper outlines future extensions of the VOC approach. The question here is if and to what extent the production of social welfare through parenthood is substitutable by other production modes, and whether as intermediate goods compete or are complemented by welfare production in other life domains.The of (VOC) approach combines a multi-level and action-oriented theoretical model of generative behavior based on the principles of methodological individualism (Coleman 1990) with the welfare maximizing assumptions derived from social production function theory to create a comprehensive explanatory program. The VOC approach nicely complements economic theories of fertility in the tradition of Becker (1960). Whereas traditional economic theories emphasize the costs of children, the VOC approach encompasses also the supply side of children, i.e., the benefits bring for their (potential) parents under variable social and economic conditions. Thus, the VOC approach offers a coherent and methodologically complete explanation of generative behavior.1. The originsThe concept Value of Children (VOC) originates in the work of a task force headed by Fawcett (1972, 1973). The main theoretical perspective was developed by task force members Hoffman and Hoffman (1973) in preparation for a larger international research program, designed to find explanations for high fertility rates in many developing countries in the context of fertility decline in affluent western societies. Both high fertility rates and the related scenarios of overpopulation in some parts of the world, coupled with the prospect of fertility rates dropping below replacement level in other parts of the world (conjuring colorful scenarios of aging and dying societies) became hot issues and urgent research topics during that decade. The VOC approach was intended to be a powerful explanatory alternative to the then-dominant economic theories of fertility (Becker 1960, 1976; Easterlin 1968) and to macro-level descriptions of country-specific time series of fertility rates then common in conventional demography.The VOC approach provided the first systematic explanation for variations in fertility decision-making that explicitly took cultural factors into account. To date it is still the only approach to do so. The starting point of the VOC theoretical model is identical to that of economic approaches to fertility: objective economic and socio-structural factors such as economic development, labor market opportunities, and level of education. However, these factors are tied to an implicit decision making model, and the of children is taken as the central mediator variable at the individual level. The value of is itself subject to variation due to changes in society and culture. Thus, VOC is an important missing link between social and cultural conditions, on the one hand, and individual decision making regarding fertility and child-oriented behavior over the life course, on the other (Graph 1). …