Love and Economics

Jennifer Roback Morse draws on economics and personal experience to argue that families are the essential institutions for forming responsible, social adults and sustaining societies.

She challenges the notion that markets or 'invisible hand' mechanisms can substitute for intentional parental care in early childhood development.

Using research on attachment and socialization, Morse explains how mothers and fathers play distinct but complementary roles that underpin character formation and economic flourishing.

The book critiques policy and cultural trends that devalue unpaid family labor and treat children as replaceable.

Ultimately, it advocates public recognition and support for the family as the foundational unit of social and economic life.