Edward Elgar Publishing The Economics of the Family and Family Policy

This comprehensive and authoritative book offers a global approach to the modern economics of the family, family law and family policy. Beginning with the division of labour in the family, this book deals with the economics of marriage, the demand for children, inter-generational relationships, and the economics of inheritance. The family is analysed using the theory of utility maximisation assuming that individuals wish to achieve the greatest possible satisfaction with limited resources and imperfect knowledge. The family is examined from both long and short term perspectives, and it is assumed that the family is cooperative with incentives for altruistic behaviour greater than in any other social group. Francisco Cabrillo then develops the analysis to include a discussion of the economics of family policy, an area not widely discussed in the existing literature, with special reference to the European Union. He makes use of simple and clear analytical models, such as neoclassical optimization and game theory, to explain the rationality of individual behaviour in the family and the responses to the incentives created by public policies. The Economics of the Family and Family Policy will be essential reading for economists interested in the family, public policy as well as sociologists and policymakers. Review 'Francisco Cabrillo's book is a masterful and much needed overview of the economics of the family, one of the "heterodox" subjects in which economists have in the last decades proved the fruitfulness of their analytic apparatus. Written with the general reader in view, both economists and non-economists will enjoy this book. It covers not only a wide scope from the theoretical point of view but also looks at the policies directed towards the family. Economic analysis can be very helpful in the task of finding out whether policy makers in this field have been right or, alas, wrong.' About the Author Francisco Cabrillo, Department of Applied Economics, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain