The Grants Economy and Study of the American Family: A Possible Framework for Trans‐Disciplinary Approaches1

Abstract

Use and allocation of family and societal resources are guided by market forces and the grants economy. This paper expands on the grants economy with special reference to the family. Examples of grants within families and between families and society are cited as well as the possible ramifications on the grants economy of cross‐generational estrange ment and impeded communications, lengthened period of economic dependence of the younger generation, changes in family stability, more married women working for pay, and shifts of functions from family to organizations outside the family. Finally, a plea is made for greater trans‐disciplinary cooperation in research on the family to yield more complete and meaningful results‐e.g., on topics such as estimating the costs and benefits of public programs as well as changes in the market economy affecting families, estimating the “worth” to society of integrative structures that result in large part from family experi ence, delegation outside the family, and monetization of functions previously performed by family members for family members, estimation of the relative “worth” of different family forms, and determination of the multidimensional effects of divorce, alternative child care arrangements, and various care and living arrangements for the elderly.

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