This article presents the work of Viviana Zelizer, outlining her understanding of the intertwining of family and economy through a series of objects: life insurance, the valuation of children, the social meaning of money, and more recently, intimacy. The various stages of Viviana Zelizer’s research are set out, with particular attention to the relational work carried out by the actors. The last part of the paper explores the repercussions of Zelizer’s work, which resonates around the world, in a time of difficult economic conditions that cast doubt on the possibility of establishing a family and creating the conditions for reproduction.