Are babies consumer durables? A Critique of the Economic Theory of Reproductive Motivation * The research discussed is supported by a grant from The Equitable Life Assurance Society to International Population and Urban Research, Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley. The author wishes to thank Kingsley Davis for his advice and criticism, and Valerie Caires, Katherine Carter and Barbara Heyns for their assistance in processing the studies involved in this analysis. The report is also indebted to General Research Support Grant of the National Institutes of Health (1501-TR-544104) for assistance to Statistical Services, School of Public Health.

Abstract Never before have couples been able to control so effectively the number of children they will have. Although involuntary factors still affect family size, continuing advances in contraceptive techniques make deliberate choice an ever more important determinant of fertility. But what factors determine the size of family people will choose ? One type of answer advanced in recent years by Gary Becker views reproductive performance simply as economic behaviour. Couples, he believes, desire fewer children when poor, more when rich.