05 April 2010

Marginal Revolution: Do daughters make you more conservative?

Tyler Cowan's comment at marginalrevolution.com finishes with a great quote (i.e., one designed to make some people froth at the mouth:
By the way, I applaud the authors for their "stones" in writing the last paragraph of the paper, such as:

The conservative emphasis on family, traditional values and gender roles, and prolife anti-abortion sentiments all stress investment in children – for both men and women. Conservative policies mirror the genetic interests of women, writ large. They attempt to promote paternal investment in offspring. Further, they stress investment in conceived offspring – “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” In short, Conservative policies support the genetic fitness of women by capitalizing on each pregnancy, reducing male promiscuity, and increasing paternal investment in children. Such policies may impinge on the freedom of parents’ immediate offspring, but they increase the expected number of grandchildren via daughters.


I'm not sure that's true as stated, but it does deserve further debate.

Marginal Revolution: Do daughters make you more conservative?

So, whaddaya think? I figure most replies will fall into accident, tu quoque, or wishful thinking, but I'm willing to be proved wrong!

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