In this introductory article, I provide an overview of the genesis for the special subsection, situate it in the existing Value of Children literature and highlight major contributions of papers in this collection. The articles contribute to existing scholarship in at least three ways. First, they expand the concept of the value of children by incorporating new value dimensions and new mechanisms that shape child values in contemporary Asia. Second, this collection advances a broader research agenda beyond demography by linking it with mainstream sociological inquiries, including family changes and fertility trends, intergenerational relationships, parenting, gender dynamics and social stratification. Finally, the articles reveal heterogeneous, hybrid and complex patterns of value changes and their social impact rooted in historically and culturally specific trajectories of modernization in different contexts, thus challenging the dominant discourse of a linear economic-emotional value progression in existing literature.
From ARI workshop on “The Value of Children in Asia: Economy, Family and Public Policies, 8-9 November 2018.
