Episode · Freakonomics Radio · 2011-08-16
Books mentioned on 39. The Economist’s Guide to Parenting
Think you know how much parents matter? Think again.
Stephen Dubner discussed The Prairie and the Making of Middle America by Dorothy Anne Dondore and Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids by Bryan Caplan. Also mentioned: Psychological Care of Infant and Child by John Broadus Watson.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Prairie and the Making of Middle America
Discussed“That's Anne Hulbert. She wrote a book called Raising America. Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children. It's fair to say that the advice has shifted a bit over time.”
Where to get it
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Psychological Care of Infant and Child
Psychological Care of Infant and Child by John Broadus Watson is a notorious behaviorist parenting manual that was a major cultural sensation during the late 1920s.
Discussed“I think the example that is the most notorious is the behaviorist John Broaddus Watson, whose book, The Psychological Care of Infant and Child, was a big sensation in the late 20s. He said, you know, you should never kiss your child.”
Where to get it
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Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids
Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids by Bryan Caplan is a provocative parenting and economic book that examines how traditional child-rearing practices can be drastically scaled back for a more enjoyable family life.
Discussed“Part of what motivated Kaplan to write his book was a new pile of research suggesting that, on average, becoming a parent robs you of happiness. It is true that people who have kids are a little bit less happy than otherwise identical people who don't have kids.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (7) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“I am Brian Kaplan. I'm a professor of economics at George Mason University, and I am the author of Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think.”
Plugged Parentonomics
“So when it came to parenting, I ended up writing a book called Parentonomics, an economist dad's parenting experiences.”
“When Sacerdote was digging into the adoption data, Brian Kaplan, he's the guy who wrote Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, he was reading every piece of twins research he could find.”
Passing Parentonomics
“Joshua Gans, our Australian friend who wrote Parentonomics, he's proud to admit that he's taken risks with his kid's life. But not how you might think.”
Passing Parentonomics
“We already know Valerie Ramey got sucked into the very rugrat race she was studying. What about Joshua Gans, the parentonomics author? Well, let me ask you this, Joshua, if I'm not prying.”
Passing Parentonomics
“And we want you as economists to behave as your data preaches, just as we want, you know, a man of the cloth to behave as the liturgy and the sacred texts preach. What does it say about the human mind that even you, who's written a book on this, is unable to break the ties that society presents to”
“I mean, listen again to the title of Kaplan's book. Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think. I mean, just listen to the man's defense of television.”