[Families with and without children: poverty or affluence? Evidence for Canada and Quebec from 1971 to 1987]

"This study compares the economic well-being of families with and without children and looks into their place in the size distribution of income, in Canada and Quebec from 1971 to 1987. The evidence presented in the paper suggests that having children reduces the chances of affluence and increases the risk of poverty. Viewed from the perspective of the low levels of fertility in Canada and in Quebec, the evidence casts some doubts on the consistency of recent changes, by the two levels of government, in the fiscal and transfer policies concerning families with children." (SUMMARY IN ENG)