What Is The Income "Cost Of A Child"? Exact Equivalence Scales For Canadian Two-Parent Families

A-Tier
Journal: Review of Economics and Statistics
Year: 1998
Volume: 80
Issue: 1
Pages: 157-164

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This note asks: "How much income does it take to preserve the prechild standard of living for all members of the postchild household?" Equivalence scales for Canadian two-parent families are estimated using a complete demand system approach and imposing the condition of equivalence scale exactness/independent of a base (Blackorby and Donaldson (1993), Lewbel (1989)). This approach has several advantages: (1) It is formally grounded in economic theory. (2) The income required for children can be estimated without ignoring the well-being of the children themselves. (3) The estimates obtained appear reasonable relative to others currently available in the literature. © 1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:tpr:restat:v:80:y:1998:i:1:p:157-164
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29