We explore the implications of the generalised Alchian–Allen theorem for the labour-leisure-child-care decision of a mother with young children. In this framework we find: (i) For mothers who work only a few hours a week, a rise in wages arguably increases the demand for leisure relative to...

We explore the Alchian–Allen effect–that is, the effect of an absolutely equal increase in the price of two goods on their demand ratio–for conditional (viz. short-run) and unconditional (viz. long-run) demand functions. We show that the Alchian–Allen effect for unconditional demand...