Children Went from Worthless to Priceless (2013)
The financial and emotional value of children in Western societies has shifted dramatically over time, from being seen as economically useful but emotionally expendable to being considered emotionally priceless despite lacking economic contribution. In the 19th century, courts often denied compensation for child fatalities due to their lack of earning capacity, but by the late 20th century, parents received substantial damages based on emotional loss. This transformation reflects a broader cultural shift in which childhood became 'sacralized' through social reforms, declining child labor, and heightened emotional investment in children.
- ▪In 1896, a judge ruled that a two-year-old child had no earning capacity and thus no financial damages were awarded to grieving parents.
- ▪By 1979, parents of a three-year-old who died from fluoride poisoning received $750,000 in compensation based on emotional suffering, not economic loss.
- ▪Sociologist Viviana Zelizer documents how children shifted from being economically valuable but emotionally distant to economically dependent yet emotionally priceless.
- ▪Historically, infant death was often met with resignation, and children were buried informally, similar to pets.
- ▪Child labor reforms, declining infant mortality, and changes in adoption preferences reflect the 'sacralization' of childhood in the 20th century.
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How Children Went from Worthless to Priceless Alex Mayyasi <img decoding="async" src="https://etzq49yfnmd.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/baby-933097_1280.jpg?strip=all&w=640" alt="a baby with a pacifier" width="700" data-eio="l" /> Pricing a product can be a thorny issue. Will customers interpret a low price as a bargain, or as a sign of a low quality? Is allowing people to pay what they want for a product a profitable strategy? Despite Econ 101’s promise of finding the perfect price at the intersection of a supply and a demand curve, pricing advice accounts for countless books, management consulting projects, and Harvard case studies. But the most fascinating case study about pricing does not have to do with iPhones, cable TV packages, or Uber rides.
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