ABSTRACT
A major theme of social science research has been the causes, nature, and effects of the family life cycle. This chapter investigates more extensively the relationship of the life cycle to savings behavior in an historical setting. It describes that savings, whether in the form of financial assets (savings accounts), real assets (homes), or human capital (children), constituted part of at least some adaptive strategies. In the case of blue-collar workers in the United States and Europe in 1889/1890, the early peaking male age–earnings profile, higher levels of child mortality, and availability of children's employment all induced early marriage and childbearing. Both the life-cycle tabulations and the regression results support the overall view that, in the nineteenth century, families followed life-cycle accumulation patterns that regarded children, human capital, real property, and financial assets as part of an asset portfolio strategy.
