Who pays for the kids?

by Nancy Folbre

`Nancy Folbre focuses on questions that most economists never think about: how and why people form overlapping groups that influence and limit what they want, how they may behave, and what they get. She has sharp and plausible things to say about group solidarity and group conflict and how they have affected the workings of economic institutions. Anyone would be a better economist, or just a clearer thinker, after reading this book.'- Robert M. Solow, Professor of Economics, MIT and Nobel Laureate in EconomicsWho Pays for the Kids? is the short version of the longer question: How are the costs of caring for ourselves,, our children, and other dependents are distributed among the members of society? These costs are largely paid by women, both inside and outside the money economy. They also seem to be increasing, due to the expansion of wage employment, the increased importance of education, and improved health technologies. Despite the social programmes of the welfare state, parents wit