T1 Are Children Better Off
Are children better off in nuclear or extended families?
Children are worse off living in extended families where their paternal grandfather is head of the household than in nuclear families. But they are better off living in households that include their grandmother. These are the conclusions of new research by Lena Edlund and Aminur Rahman, which explores household structures and child outcomes in Bangladesh. Their findings will be presented at the Royal Economic Society's Annual Conference this week.
Related research also indicates that the widespread practice of arranged marriages is harmful not only because people cannot marry for 'love', but also because it gives rise to a family structure in which the grandfather has headship, which is bad for children.
The extended family, with the grandfather as the household head, and adult sons and their families under his authority, has traditionally been the prescribed family form in many parts of Asia. The nuclear family, with its emphasis on the conjugal bond and the emancipation of the prime-aged, has set the European family apart since at least the Middle Ages. While it is accepted that the extended family favours the older generation at the expense of the prime-aged, it is less clear how children fare under the two different family types.
To investigate this subject, the researchers analyse household survey data on Bangladesh, where, as in much of South Asia, there is a strong presumption that adult sons will continue to live in the same household as their father, and that he retains headship. The survey was conducted every four months from June 1996 to September 1997 (four rounds) in 47 villages, where the questionnaire was administered to 5,541 children in 955 rural households in each round. Outcome variables are height-for-age and class completed. Both capture important aspects of a child's current and future well-being and productivity. Height-for-age is a composite measure of the child's nutritional status
Children are worse off living in extended families where their paternal grandfather is head of the household than in nuclear families. But they are better off living in households that include their grandmother. These are the conclusions of new research by Lena Edlund and Aminur Rahman, which explores household structures and child outcomes in Bangladesh. Their findings will be presented at the Royal Economic Society's Annual Conference this week.
Related research also indicates that the widespread practice of arranged marriages is harmful not only because people cannot marry for 'love', but also because it gives rise to a family structure in which the grandfather has headship, which is bad for children.
The extended family, with the grandfather as the household head, and adult sons and their families under his authority, has traditionally been the prescribed family form in many parts of Asia. The nuclear family, with its emphasis on the conjugal bond and the emancipation of the prime-aged, has set the European family apart since at least the Middle Ages. While it is accepted that the extended family favours the older generation at the expense of the prime-aged, it is less clear how children fare under the two different family types.
To investigate this subject, the researchers analyse household survey data on Bangladesh, where, as in much of South Asia, there is a strong presumption that adult sons will continue to live in the same household as their father, and that he retains headship. The survey was conducted every four months from June 1996 to September 1997 (four rounds) in 47 villages, where the questionnaire was administered to 5,541 children in 955 rural households in each round. Outcome variables are height-for-age and class completed. Both capture important aspects of a child's current and future well-being and productivity. Height-for-age is a composite measure of the child's nutritional status