Children are born with their genetic makeup and their experiences in the womb, but are largely a tabula rasa compared to the effects of a lifetime of future experiences. One does not have to accept the Freudian emphasis on very early childhood and early sexual fantasies to believe that childhood and teen-age experiences have an enormous influence on adult preferences. Basic values, preferences in food and clothing, attitudes toward the opposite sex, ambitions, and other parts of preferences all get influenced by what happens to a person when young. And no one has a greater influence on preference formation than parents and other close relatives. They usually determine practically all the experiences of children during their first few years of life, and many of their experiences through the teens. What parents do and do not do has a great influence on the preference formation of their children. Most parents are aware of this, if only vaguely. To the extent they care about what their children’s preferences will be, they incorporate the effects on children in their decisions concerning what they do. For example, if their smoking raises the likelihood that their children smoke, they may decide not to smoke because they do not want the children to take up smoking. Or they may go to church only because they believe churchgoing will improve the values of their children. Of course, what parents want to do is constrained also by their preferences, as influenced by their own childhood experiences. Rational parents maximize their utility, conditional not only on their resources, but also on their past experiences, and their attitudes toward their children. Sections 2 and 3 of this paper are organized around the issue of support of parents in their old age. Parents will accumulate assets to help provide for their old-age needs. Whether they also want their children to help support themdepends on their altruism toward children. I will show that the desire for support also interacts with whether parents invest the optimal amount of human capital in children. How can parents insure that their children will want to help them if they need help? One way is to try to influence the formation of children’s

中文翻译：

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家庭中的偏好形成

儿童天生具有遗传构成和在子宫中的经历，但与一生的未来经历的影响相比，它们在很大程度上属于禁忌。人们不必接受弗洛伊德对儿童早期和性幻想的强调，就可以相信儿童和青少年的经历对成年人的喜好产生巨大影响。基本价值观，对食物和衣服的偏爱，对异性的态度，志向以及其他偏爱都受一个人年轻时所发生的事情的影响。没有人会比父母和其他近亲对喜好形成的影响更大。他们通常会确定儿童在生命的最初几年中的所有经历，以及青少年时期的许多经历。父母做什么和不做什么对孩子的偏好形成有很大影响。如果只是模糊的话，大多数父母都知道这一点。在某种程度上，他们关心孩子的喜好会如何，将对孩子的影响纳入他们关于自己的工作的决定中。例如，如果吸烟增加了孩子吸烟的可能性，则他们可能决定不吸烟，因为他们不希望孩子吸烟。或者，他们可能仅因为相信信仰会改善孩子的价值观而去教堂。当然，受自己童年经历的影响，父母的意愿也受到他们偏好的约束。有理智的父母不仅根据他们的资源，而且还取决于他们过去的经验，来最大化他们的效用，以及他们对孩子的态度。本文的第2部分和第3部分围绕父母的老年支持问题进行组织。父母会积累资产来满足他们的老年需求。他们是否也希望自己的孩子帮助他们，取决于他们对孩子的无私奉献。我将证明对支持的渴望也与父母是否将最佳人力资本投资于孩子有关。父母如何确保他们的孩子在需要帮助时愿意帮助他们？一种方法是尝试影响儿童的形成 他们是否还希望自己的孩子帮助养育他们，取决于他们对孩子的无私奉献。我将证明对支持的渴望也与父母是否将最佳人力资本投资于孩子有关。父母如何确保他们的孩子在需要帮助时愿意帮助他们？一种方法是尝试影响儿童的形成 他们是否也希望自己的孩子帮助他们，取决于他们对孩子的无私奉献。我将证明对支持的渴望也与父母是否将最佳人力资本投资于孩子有关。父母如何确保他们的孩子在需要帮助时愿意帮助他们？一种方法是尝试影响儿童的形成