Bibliographies
The following bibliography has been compiled from the Australian Family & Society Abstracts database and other resources held in the Institute's library. Where available a link to the document on the Web is provided. Most items can be borrowed from the Institute's library via the inter library loan system. Online publications in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Costs of children
Foregone
earnings from child rearing: changes between
1986 and 1997.
Gray, M C; Chapman, B
Family Matters no.58 Autumn 2001: 4-9, tables, figures,
and Online (PDF 442 KB)
When people think about the costs of raising children,
they generally include only the direct expenditure
involved. However, there are other costs that are often
ignored. These indirect costs refer to the loss of
income that a household experiences because one or
both parents spend time out of paid employment or take
a lower paying job in order to look after the children.
In this article, the authors report on a recent study
which examines the impact of children on their mothers
lifetime earnings - a hidden cost of raising children.
Million dollar baby; and baby makes debt.
Tabakoff, Nick
Bulletin with Newsweek v.123 Jul 12 2005: 22-26
Gone are the days when having a baby was considered
an unplanned blessing. This article examines the
economics of child rearing, looking at the effects
on the family budget of child care, additional household
expenses, education expenses, lowered mortgage repayments,
forgone earnings. In most Australian capital cities,
the cost of raising a child is about one million
dollars for a high income family with an annual
combined income of $150,000 or more. Although the
cost is less for middle and low income families
because of the forgone earnings differential, the
affordability factors are comparable and are affecting
couples' decisions to have more children.
The
costs of children in Australia today.
Percival, R; Harding, A
In: 8th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference,
Melbourne, 12-14 February 2003: proceedings. Melbourne,
Vic: Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2003,
13p. Online only (PDF 484 KB)
This report considers some of the financial costs
of raising children in Australia. It provides an
estimate of the average cost of raising two children,
taking into account housing, transport, recreation,
food, clothing and education. The authors recommend
budgeting as the best way to manage these costs.
The
price, cost, consumption and value of children.
Bradbury, Bruce
Sydney, NSW: Social Policy Research Centre, University
of New South Wales, 2004, 26p, tables, figures (SPRC
discussion paper no.132), and Online (PDF 415 KB)
Though they are related, the price, cost, consumption
and value of children are not the same. This paper
explores two aspects of the relationship between
these concepts. Even if we restrict attention to
the domain of commodity consumption, the cost of
children is not the same as children's consumption.
In this context, the cost of children to their parents
is often described with a consumer equivalence scale.
It is shown here that, under reasonable assumptions,
children's consumption of market goods is less than
the 'equivalent income' of the household, but more
than the 'cost of children'. Expenditure costs,
however, are only part of the cost of children.
This paper uses a variant of the adult goods method
to estimate the full costs of children, including
both expenditure and time costs. Adult personal
time (comprising pure leisure, sleep and other personal
care) is used as the adult good. Preliminary estimates
using Australian data suggest a very large cost
of children. The paper discusses the limitations
of the estimation approach and considers the broader
welfare implications of these costs. (Author abstract)
Uncovering the real costs of foster care.
Developing Practice: The Child, Youth and Family
Work Journal no.4 Winter 2002: 72-74, tables
The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the
University of NSW was commissioned to undertake
research to establish the real cost of caring for
foster children. The study was borne out of a concern
that foster care across Australia is undergoing
a crisis in recruitment and retention partly attributable
to poor reimbursement. This article discusses the
resulting report, 'The costs of caring', and indicates
that the costs of children in foster care are on
average 52 percent higher than the costs of children
not in care. The study shows that no state or territory
is paying adequate reimbursement to foster carers.