Family Public Policy in the United States

Family is a very dynamic institution in the United States, and public policy influencing it is seemingly as variable. The situation is so chaotic that Dowds concluded that "There is a void in public policy about families.'' Issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage are very controversial and may cause extremely strong emotions among American citizens. In general, the highly individualistic culture has engendered a perspective that family is somewhat sanctified and should be isolated from governmental influence. This article seeks to weave perspectives on what "family'' entails currently together with marketing and public policy. The authors hope that such juxtaposition of these views will stimulate discussion and research on the family and more attention to its role as an understudied stakeholder in macromarketing research.