( Household economics and the study of demographic problems).

There are many aspects of the theory of household economics which are useful in explaining demographic developments and which can help in the interpretation of demographic events. The aggregation of individual utilities into a household-utility function makes it necessary to take household and family structure into account. A less narrow definition of utility and the concept of a household production can explain certain trade-offs between domestic work, family size, and activities outside the household undertaken by its members. These choices are subject to an obvious constraint, which has, however, been neglected by conventional theorists: the time available to members of the household which they divide between different activities is limited. The concept of human capital finally adds a dynamic element to the theory. In this paper, the relevance of these concepts is discussed for the study of fertility and of the demographic transition. -English summary