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This paper critically evaluates the argument that all government spending is, from the perspective of economic theory, simply consumption spending. The argument is questionable because it assumes that for investment to be meaningful, it must be directed toward consumer satisfaction, where "consumers� are a group mutually exclusive from government officials. Further, it assumes that government officials can be neither future- or consumer-oriented in their behavior. Related to these points, the argument also contains terminology structured so as to rule out objections simply by definition. In addition, the consumption theory of government spending also potentially incorporates hidden value judgments. Finally, the argument actually overlooks important facts about government production which would otherwise go unnoticed.

AbstractParental expectations about the companionship and assistance they will receive in later life from their children are key considerations in family formation decisions. We explore patterns of parents' investment and the support and contact they receive from adult children in Egypt, where fertility is falling and sources of support at all life stages are in flux. Using data from a survey of older adults in Ismailia governorate, we consider parents' past investments in childbearing, child survival, and children's education and marriage, as well as recent assistance to adult children via housing, care for grandchildren, gifts, and money. The returns from children considered include economic assistance, instrumental support, and visits. Most parental investments are associated with frequent visits from children. The assistance children provide to parents is gendered: sons tend to provide economic transfers, whereas daughters tend to provide instrumental help. A greater number of surviving children is most strongly associated with parents' receipt of multiple types of later-life returns. Investments in children's education and marriage are not associated with assistance, but recent assistance to children—especially economic transfers and provision of housing—is associated with receiving instrumental assistance from adult children.

This paper presents a tractable model where the effect of inheritance on steady‐state consumption inequality can be derived under both linear and piecewise linear bequest functions. As has been found in previous research, the linear bequest function yields inheritances which reduce consumption inequality regardless of the model's parameters. However, in the piecewise linear model, whether inheritances increase or reduce steady‐state consumption inequality depends on the magnitude of the marginal propensity to bequeath, the amount of earnings inequality and the degree of intergenerational earnings mobility.