WHY DO AMERICANS WANT CHILDREN

Prevailing theories of fertility behavior do not explain what sustains fertility in industrialized countries. Extending James Coleman's conc ept of social capital, the authors argue that the social resource valu e of children is an important factor motivating child-bearing. Data fo r the United States from the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and H ouseholds are used to test hypotheses regarding how fertility intentio ns are influenced by the social resource value of children, the econom ic costs of children, and the effect of children on parental career. T he social resource value of children emerges as a powerful predictor o f fertility intentions across groups stratified by race, gender, union status, and parity. Children create social capital for parents, an im portant and previously underappreciated reason for why Americans want children.