Childbearing as a Public Good; Children as Public Goods: Iran’s Legislative Approach

Although the era when children were primarily considered as a source of labor for the familyhas largely passed, the procreation of children remains indispensable for societal continuity.Views on children have shifted from characterizing them as the “private property of the family”to recognizing them as a “public good.” While children may not satisfy all the criteria of a purepublic good, it is widely acknowledged that society bears a significant role in the upbringing,education, and, ultimately, the costs associated with children. Nonetheless, although theconception of a child as a personal property of the family has changed, extensive governmentalintrusion into family privacy is similarly not accepted. This article employs a descriptive-analytical approach to examine arguments for and against this perspective, drawing on theoriesof public and socialized goods, with a focus on Iranian legislation. Children, due to their potentialbenefits, such as their future roles as workforce and taxpayers, exhibit characteristics of a publicgood; however, philosophical, legal, economic, and cultural challenges limit this interpretation.Iranian laws, particularly the Family and Youthful Population Support Act (2021) and Article3 of the Child and Adolescent Protection Act (2020), recognize government responsibility andmark a step toward conceptualizing children as public goods. This article posits thatwhetherchildren are characterized as public goods or as socialized goods, an obligation is thereby createdfor non-parents and, consequently, for the state as the representative of the nation, to share in thecosts associated with them.