Children’s Economic Reasoning

This line of research explores how children understand wealth and make sense of economic exchange whether through sharing resources among neighbors or using one’s money to purchase goods. We examine how children make exchange and spending decisions across different contexts, such as distinguishing between needs and wants.

Furthermore, as the world increasingly shifts toward digital and paperless payments, our work adapts to reflect the modern economic environments children observe and participate in. By studying these everyday interactions, we aim to better understand how children track value, make decisions, and interpret financial behaviors in a social world.

Ultimately, this research aims to shed light on how concepts like reciprocity, cooperation, and responsibility develop with the goal of informing how we support children’s emerging financial and social understanding.

This work is currently in data collection and taking new research assistant applications.