ECON 34550: Economics of the Family
Professor Kasey Buckles
Click here to go to Kasey Buckles' homepage.
Welcome to the website for Economics of the Family at
You can find important class materials here, as well as links to useful and interesting web sites.
Link to Sakai for handing in assignments
Class Topics,
Handouts and Slides, and Links to Papers
Topic |
Dates |
Handouts and Slides |
Required Readings |
Introduction |
Jan. 12 |
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Models of Marriage |
Jan. 14 & 19 |
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Marriage and Divorce |
Jan. 21, 26, 28 |
Slides for Jan. 21, Slides for Jan. 26, Slides for Jan. 28 |
Ribar 2004, Angrist & Pischke chapters (see syllabus). |
Marriage and Inequality |
Feb. 2 & 4 |
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Economic Models of Fertility |
Feb. 9 |
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Empirical Studies of Fertility and Family Structure |
Feb. 11, 16, 18 |
Kearney-Levine Slides, Albanesi & Olivetti Slides, Berman, Iannoccone, and Ragusa Slides |
Kearney and Levine 2014, Albanesi and Olivetti 2009, Berman, Iannaccone, and Ragusa 2012, popular press articles (see email). |
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Family Structure: Birth Order, Family Size, and Spacing |
Feb. 23 & 24 |
Black, Devereux, and Salvanes Slides, Buckles and Munnich Slides, Price Slides |
Black, Devereux, and Salvanes 2005, Buckles and Munnich 2012, Price 2008 |
Nature v. Nurture |
March 3 |
Sacerdote 2007, popular press articles (see email). |
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Family and Women's Work |
March 15, 17, 22 |
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Maternity Leave |
March 24 |
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Conference Preparation and Conference |
March 29 & 31 |
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Public Policies: Child Care, Contraception, Abortion |
April 5, 7, 12, 14 |
Cortes and Tessada, Gelbach 2002, Bailey 2010, Gruber, Levine, and Staiger 1999, popular press (links in email). |
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More Public Policy: Unintended Consequences |
April 21 |
Handouts & Assignments
How to Read Empirical Research Papers - This guide should help you as you learn the skill of reading papers
Paper 1 Assignment - Due Feb. 9
Paper 2 Assignment - Due March 3
Paper 3 Assignment - Due April 5
Paper 4 Assignment - Due April 21, draft due April 19
Presentation 1 Assignment - In class, March 24
Assorted Links
Homepage for the Department of Economics at Notre Dame.
Link to Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, Undergraduate Resources
Reading List
Here is a list of books you might find interesting if you enjoy creative emipirical economics. I haven't read all of these, so I can't guarantee satisfaction. They were chosen because they tackle everyday issues from an economics, econometrics, or statistics perspective, in a beach-read kind of way. Please let me know if you have other suggestions that I can pass along to your classmates. Happy reading!
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail--But Some Don't, by Nate Silver
Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Experience
Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Bringing Down The House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions