| Joshua Gans, MIT, 2009, 240 pages, £16.95 |
| I felt like having a tantrum after reading this book. I really
wanted to like it, but I could not help but feel disappointed. As a fan
of popular economics books, not to mention as an economist and a father,
the idea of applying economics to parenting appealed to me. I took heart
from the preface that warned that the book would be “far from scholarly”
and “should not be considered a parenting manual”. Author Joshua Gans’
writing style is engaging. But in the end, the poverty of his ambition
began to grate. |
| Each chapter addresses a particular theme, such as eating, caring or
playing. In some, I found myself playing ‘spot the economics’. In
general, the relative lack of footnotes was a good indicator of where
the economics was absent. Instead, we are treated to a series of
personal anecdotes, akin to a young parent’s dinner party monologue.
Gans concludes that his economist’s understanding of the role of
incentives helped with issues such as eating and sleeping, but not with
others such as toileting. He draws comfort from the thought that “little
else helps either.” But the supposed limitations of economics stem
partly from his determination to focus on what he calls the “minutia”.
So we read nothing of the insights from economics on questions such as
how many children to have and when, the monetary costs of raising
children, and the choices of homes, schools or even partners. |
| While the book is analytically thin and its scope narrow, it does
deliver sporadically on its promise to amuse. After reflecting on the
ability of children to game incentives to use the toilet, Gans concludes
that toilet training is perhaps best outsourced to day-care
professionals: “The end result is mostly the same as if you did it
yourself, but with less stress and cleaner carpets.” But this isn’t the
Freakonomics of Parenting. For the most part, the points made lack
counter-intuitive appeal. One exception is the argument that advertising
of unhealthy foods is good, because parents using such foods as treats
can then coax their children into eating more healthy food in return.
The power of this point is rather undermined by the concession that this
strategy can be undermined by other people, such as grandparents,
supplying such treats for free. |
| In the end, Parentonomics is little more than the distillation of
the experiences of a father of three young children, who happens to be
an economist. While the book is mildly entertaining, older parents will
find few surprises in the advice that is dispensed along the way.
Economists, however, will be frustrated that Gans finds that economics
has so little to offer parenting – although, if nothing else, he
deserves credit for setting the challenge to prove him wrong. |
Mark Cliffe
Chief Economist ING Group |
|