The Influence of Benefits on Claimant Reproduction

Abstract

In Chapter 1, I raised the possibility that the welfare state can proliferate the employment-resistant personality profile by boosting the number of children born into disadvantaged households. This chapter is devoted to examining whether it is indeed the case that welfare claimants on average have more children than employed citizens and whether such differences could be driven partly by personality differences in reactions to welfare policy. To do this, I utilise the ecological theory that there are two opposing strategies for reproduction, the success of which depends upon the availability of resources. In conditions where resources are plentiful and competition for these resources is low, the optimal strategy is to produce as many offspring as possible but put little effort into their care. Conversely, when resources are scarce and have to be competed for, the optimal strategy is to produce fewer offspring but care for them conscientiously so that each offspring is itself capable of competing for resources.