We attempt to answer a simple empirical question: does having children make a parent live longer? The hypothesis we offer is that a parentś immune system is refreshed by a childś infections at a time when their own protection starts wearing thin. With the boosted immune system, the parent has...

This paper examines possible spillover effects of parental unemployment on the subjective wellbeing of 12- to 21-year-old children. Using German panel data (SOEP), we show that unemployment of fathers and mothers is negatively associated with their children's life satisfaction. When controlling...

We study exchanges between three overlapping generations with non-dynastic altruism. The middleaged choose informal care provided to their parents and education expenditures for their children. The young enjoy their education, while the old may leave a bequest to their children. Within each...

The formation of economic preferences in childhood and adolescence has long-term consequences for life-time outcomes. We study in an experiment with 525 teenagers how both birth order and siblings' sex composition affect risk, time and social preferences. We find that second born children are...