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 the Royal Economic Society's Annual Conference will be presented at this week. Related research also indicates that the widespread practice of arranged marriages is harmful not only because people also cannot marry for ‘love’, but, 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 marriage bond and the relative freedom that it gives to both husband and wife 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 young adults, it is less clear how the two different family types effect children. 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 the father retains his position as overall family head. 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 and the class they attend at each round. Children’s height, age school were recorded. These are important details, as a child’s height can indicate overall health and the quality of his/her nutrition, while education time and money spent by the family on the child. The fact that children typically outlive their parents means that most extended households eventually convert into nuclear households. This gives rise to variation in household type, which the researchers use to investigate their hypothesis that children from having their father rather than their grandfather as head.
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 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 marriage bond and the relative freedom that it gives to both husband and wife 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 young adults, it is less clear how the two different family types effect children. 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 the father retains his position as overall family head. 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. Children’s height, age and the class they attend at school were recorded. These are important details, as a child’s height can indicate overall health and the quality of his/her nutrition, while education time and money spent by the family on the child. The fact that children typically outlive their parents means that most extended households eventually convert into nuclear households. This gives rise to variation in household type, which the researchers use to investigate their hypothesis that children from having their father rather than their grandfather as head.
Family%20and%20Gender%20Roles%20-%20Children%20in%20Nuclear%20and%20Extended%20Families.docx