FAMILY AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

The institution of family may be examined by various fields of study – Sociology, Psychology, History, Law, Economics, etc. This article aims to look at the family from the viewpoint of economic analysis of law. It presents the household as a cell producing and consuming commodities which may not be purchased in the market environment. Such commodities mean children, prestige and reputation, health, altruism, and sensual pleasure. Consumption of home commodities does not reduce the quantity of commodities in other households. The article presents the family as the institution which is responsible for a substantial part of economic activities because of its offer of manufacturing factors (labour, capital) and consumption of goods and services. Owing to these reasons, the family has an indispensable influence on the economic environment. However, this holds true even vice versa. Technological progress has been changing the economic environment and such changes have been reflected in the family and its functions. The present article analyses the marriage market, the position of women in the labour market, the division of work in households, the decrease in birth rate and the increase in divorce rate and their relationship, and tries to answer the question of whether state interventions in the family are efficient.1