Introduction: Family Systems and Economic Development

Abstract

The family is a universal, perhaps the oldest, institution, present in all societies we know of - from hunter gatherers to the twenty-first-century Internet age - and has shown a great deal of flexibility and resilience over the centuries (Hill 2012). It is the first institution that 'takes care' of us. Families' essential function historically has been to contribute to the basic economic survival of family members (Hill 2012, 1). It is also the main vehicle of socialization of children and key in the transmission of values from one generation to the next (Bisin & Verdier 2000). Key decisions regarding economic and demographic behaviour (i.e., number of children, their education) are made within the arena of the household. Moreover the organization of family units is, to a large extent, mirrored by social and economic inequalities in other domains of society. For instance the state is often considered to reflect family relationships: French absolutist Kings and Chinese emperors saw themselves as 'fathers' to their subjects. Family has received particular attention from sociologists studying inequality and intergenerational mobility, as an important mechanism in the reproduction of poverty and inequality (see McLanahan & Percheski 2008 for a review).