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Families in an Era of Increasing Inequality pp 83–94Cite as

Subjective Rationality, Parenting Styles, and Investments in Children

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Part of the book series: National Symposium on Family Issues ((NSFI,volume 5))

Abstract

I argue that a model in which parents act with subjective rationality is consistent with the evidence on parenting styles, investments, and child development described by Kalil (Chap. 5). By rationality, I mean that investment in children and parenting style choices can be explained by a model of optimization under constraints. By subjective, I mean that parents rely on their own assessments about the constraints in order to make choices. Data that motivate these assumptions and confirm the implications of the model are presented. The model generates new insights about policies to foster the development of children’s human capital.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A helpful survey of the literature I present in the next two paragraphs is provided by Small (1999).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Flávio Cunha

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  1. Flávio Cunha
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Correspondence to Flávio Cunha .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State Univeristy, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Paul R. Amato

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Alan Booth

  3. Social Science Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Susan M. McHale

  4. Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jennifer Van Hook

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Cunha, F. (2015). Subjective Rationality, Parenting Styles, and Investments in Children. In: Amato, P., Booth, A., McHale, S., Van Hook, J. (eds) Families in an Era of Increasing Inequality. National Symposium on Family Issues, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08308-7_6

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