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The discussion of the views expressed by Gary Becker on the changes in the American family system in his book 'Treatise on the Family' is presented.

The Consumer Price Index falls short of providing an accurate measure of the cost of living. To prevent subjective interpretations of its inadequacies, economists should collaborate in analyzing the models used. However, as the CPI is used as a parameter for citizens' tax brackets, there is a possibility that modifying the CPI would be motivated not by a need for accuracy, but to serve political purposes. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure that technical and political issues concerning the CPI are segregated, and that an independent body be responsible for any alterations.

Economists prefer the cooperative bargaining model of marriage to the common preference model of family while analyzing marriage and divorce. The income pooling assumption of the common preference model leaves little scope to address pertinent issues of population and distribution. The theoretical inadequacy of the common preference model is largely overcome by the bargaining model which admits the independent agency of men and women in marriage. The bargaining model places distribution within marriage in a theoretical framework in line with existing analyses of marriage and divorce.

Popular discussions of changes in American families over the past 60 years have revolved around the 'retreat from marriage.' Concern has focused on increasing levels of nonmarital childbearing, as well as falling marriage rates that stem from both increases in the age at first marriage and greater marital instability. Often lost in these discussions is the fact that the decline of marriage has coincided with a rise in cohabitation. Many 'single' Americans now live with a domestic partner and a substantial fraction of 'single' mothers are cohabiting, often with the child's father. The share of women who have ever cohabited has nearly doubled over the past 25 years, and the majority of nonmarital births now occur to cohabiting rather than to unpartnered mothers at all levels of education. The emergence of cohabitation as an alternative to marriage has been a key feature of the post-World War II transformation of the American family. These changes in the patterns and trajectories of family structure have a strong socioeconomic gradient. The important divide is between college graduates and others: individuals who have attended college but do not have a four-year degree have family patterns and trajectories that are very similar to those of high school graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]