Question

Q1) Suppose you are a farmworker couple, recently married, living in Pakistan. In a good year, you might make $600. Infant mortality rates are high—your children will have a one in ten chance of dying during their first year. The likelihood of your children attending more than a couple of years of school is also very small. Nationwide, only 38% of boys and 27% of girls attend primary school, and you are among the least likely to have access to such services. Systems of public welfare, “social security” retirement pensions, and public health care are very limited.

a) What are the economic benefits and costs to you, the parent, of having children?

b) On strictly economic terms, would you prefer to have two babies or five?

Answer 1

( a ) As far as economic benefits are concerned, they are none until the children grow up to at least 5- 6 years. Only after the children reach the age of 7-8, they can be used in agricultural fields to help us. If they were to help us in the agricultural field, we may be able to reap economic benefits of around $80 in an year per child.

The economic costs involved are many until they reach the age of around 10 - 12 years. The costs involved in taking care of them, of food, medicines, milk, etc. Therefore, the economic costs may be around $100 at least in an year. If they turn out to be intelligent enough kids, we may have them in the government school for little longer than usual. However, paucity of resources still may force the brightest kid to stay out of the school after 8-10 years due to poverty.

( b ) On strictly economic terms, I would prefer to have two babies rather than five, as we can see in the answer above that there is net cost involved in raising babies, and very less monetary benefits or return in short to medium term.