AØKK08097U Family Economics

Volume 2013/2014
Education
BSc in Economics
MSc in Economics
Content

The course will cover the following topics:

  • Household production models, time use
  • Marriage: Gains from marriage and cohabitation, matching in the marriage market, divorce
  • Fertility: Models of fertility, empirical trends in fertility, the cost of children, quantity-quality trade-off in fertility
  • Intra-household allocation: Division of labor; Unitary and collective models of family decision making and allocation within the family
  • Labour supply in the family: The gender wage gap and the family gap
  • Child development: Child development production function, parental investments, daycare and schooling
  • Altruism in the family – intergenerational transfers
Learning Outcome

The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of the theoretical foundations for Family Economics, empirical applications of the theory, and recent trends in family patterns. The course focuses on the micro foundation of Family Economics.

Students having completed the course should be able to:

  • Understand the basic theory behind Family Economics
  • Understand empirical analyses of issues related to Family Economics
  • Perform simple statistical/​microeconometric analyses of empirical problems related to Family Economics
Literature

Syllabus

 

Main books:

 

Handbook: Handbook of Population and Family Economics, edited by M.R. Rosenzweig and O. Stark, found online through library.

Chapters:

  • Bergstrom, Theodore C. (1997): A Survey of Theories of the Family. Chapter 2.
  • Behrman, Jere R. (1997): Intrahousehold Distribution and the Family. Chapter 4.
  • Hotz, V. Joseph, Jacob Alex Klerman and Robert J. Willis (1997): The Economics of Fertility in Developed Countries. Chapter 7.
  • Weiss, Yoram (1997): The Formation and Dissolution of Families: Why Marry? Who Marries Whom? And What Happens upon Divorce. Chapter 3.

 

Empirical evidence: A number of journal articles.
Knowledge of basic microeconomics and basic microeconometrics (at an equivalent level to Micro B and Econometrics B) is required.
The course consists of 10 lectures, 3 hours each, concentrated in the first 10 weeks of the course. The lectures will cover theoretical aspects of Family economics, but also open up to empirical applications. The empirical applications will be discussed in a class-like structure, with student preparation and some student presentations.
The last 4 weeks of the semester will be devoted to the students writing a term paper to be handed in by May 23, 2014. The term paper should consist of an empirical analysis of a problem within Family Economics. The students choose a topic and find suitable data, and the outline for the term paper has to be approved by the lecturer. The students should write individually. The final grade in the class is purely on the basis of the graded term paper.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Exercises
  • 0
  • Exam
  • 83
  • Lectures
  • 30
  • Preparation
  • 93
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
The term paper should consist of an empirical analysis of a problem within Family Economics. The students choose a topic and find suitable data, and the outline for the term paper has to be approved by the lecturer. The students can write individually or in small groups of 2-3 students.
Exam registration requirements
The students are required to write a term paper at the end of the term. The term paper should consist of an empirical analysis of a problem within Family Economics. The students choose a topic and find suitable data, and the outline for the term paper has to be approved by the lecturer. The students must write individually, in English.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
20 % censurship
Exam period
Will be updated before the start of the semester
Re-exam
Same as ordinary. But if only a few students have registered for the re-exam, the exam might change to an oral exams with a synopsis to be handed in. This means that the examination date also will change.
Criteria for exam assesment
The Student must in a satisfactory way demonstrate that he/she has mastered the learning outcome of the course.