Parenting Styles

The study of parenting styles in economics has evolved considerably over the years since the foundations were laid by developmental psychology. After treating parenting styles as another input in the human capital production function, economists began exploring the impact of the macro- and microenvironment on parenting styles and how parenting styles can be influenced by a bargaining game between parents and children. The fundamental underlying idea is that parents want to transmit certain traits and preferences, which can be related to skill formation or be of cultural nature, to their children and face the trade-off between letting a child explore and learn on its own versus restricting and monitoring children’s choice sets. Understanding the role of parenting styles in human capital formation can lead to better-informed policies and improved outcomes for children and their families. This chapter outlines the evolution of the literature on parenting styles and the open questions about the origins and measurement of styles.