Household Public Goods Research Articles

Are Children Decision-Makers within the Household?

Children are seldom accounted for in household behavioural models. They are usually assumed to have neither the capacity nor the power to influence the household decision process. The literature on collective models has so far incorporated children through the caring preferences of their parents or has treated them as household public goods [Bourguignon (1999); Blundell et al. (2005)]. This paper seeks to determine whether children of a certain age are decision-makers. We focus on the decision-making process within households composed of two adults and one child of at least 16 years of age. We first summarize the main restrictions that have been proposed to test the collective model in the context of multiple decision-makers [Chiappori and Ekeland (2006)]. We also show how a minimal number of decision-makers can be inferred from parametric constraints. Second, we apply these tests on data drawn from a series of U.K. Family Expenditure Surveys. Our results show clear evidence that it may be incorrect to assume that daughters and children aged between 16 and 21 are not full members influencing the household decision-making process.

Should husband and wife really pool their incomes?

This article addresses the problem of optimal provision of household public goods in family decision-making. In particular, we attempt to answer the question of whether or not the family is better off as an entity when spouses pool their incomes. Our findings suggest that the equilibrium attained when incomes are pooled is Pareto superior to the Cournot–Nash equilibrium outcome.

Economies of Scale and the Demand for Food in Switzerland: Parametric and Non‐Parametric Analysis

This paper examines the role of household public goods arising from co‐residence and economies of scale in the allocation of household expenditure. Using both parametric and non‐parametric methods, the paper tests the theoretical prediction that in the presence of shared public goods, larger households should have higher per capita consumption of private goods like food, provided that they do not substitute too much towards the effectively cheaper public good. The results indicate that, at constant per capita total expenditure, the per capita demand for food declines with household size. No evidence is found in favour of the hypothesis that the endogeneity of male and female hours of work in the labour force could be responsible for this anomaly. However, an examination of the role of direct economies of scale in explaining this negative relationship yielded a negative relationship between household size and quality adjusted unit values, suggesting that the effects of direct economies of scale dominate those generated by public goods.

Parental Benefits from Intergenerational Coresidence: Empirical Evidence from Rural Pakistan

This paper explains the negative correlation between the days of work reported by fathers in rural Pakistani households and the incomes earned by their coresident adult sons, thereby contributing to research on the benefits from intergenerational coresidence. I find that the decline in fathers’ days of work that accompanies increases in sons’ incomes primarily results because such income is used to finance expenditures on household public goods, such as consumer durables and ceremonies. Empirical tests reject most alternative explanations of the benefits of coresidence, including the belief that sons contribute to fathers’ wealth.

Maternal Education and Child Height

In Jamaica the effect of mothers education on child height is independent of household income sanitation sewerage and kitchen facilities as well as access to community health services. There is evidence that education is correlated with unobserved household heterogeneity such as tastes knowledge of symptoms of ill health food preparation methods and variations in the health production function. This correlation is consistent with child care norms in Jamaica where females within households routinely share child care responsibilities and thus information related to child health. An important implication of this result is that the increased education of any woman in the household (and not just the mother or primary caregiver) can have a positive impact on child health. Unlike income information is a public good within the household and thus is easily shared. (excerpt)

Economies of Scale, Household Size, and the Demand for Food

Household scale economies are plausibly attributed to shared household public goods that make larger households better off at the same level of per capita resources. Larger households should therefore have higher per capita consumption of private goods, such as food, provided that they do not substitute too much toward the effectively cheaper public goods. The evidence shows exactly the opposite. Data from rich and poor countries indicate that, at constant per capita total expenditure, the per capita demand for food decreases with household size and that it does so most in the poorest countries, where substitution should be the least.

Universal Decentralisation: A Demand System for Collective and Unitary Models with Household Public Goods

Universal Decentralisation: A Demand System for Collective and Unitary Models with Household Public Goods

Universal Decentralisation: A Demand System for Collective and Unitary Models with Household Public Goods

The paper defines demand systems that exhibit universal decentralisation; we argue that this concept is important in household consumption and labour supply models. We show that the concept nests many approaches to the analysis of individual and family behaviour. We find conditions for demand with universal decentralisation to be the result of an individual utility maximisation process and also for such demands to be the result of a household welfare maximisation procedure. We explore the link between universal decentralisation and quasi separability. There are connections between universal decentralisation and a nonlinear idea of the rank of a demand system.

Determinants of the Nutrition and Health Status of Preschool Children: An Analysis with Longitudinal Data

Previous articleNext article No AccessDeterminants of the Nutrition and Health Status of Preschool Children: An Analysis with Longitudinal DataBenjamin Senauer and Marito GarciaBenjamin Senauer Search for more articles by this author and Marito Garcia Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 39, Number 2Jan., 1991 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/451875 Views: 16Total views on this site Citations: 14Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1991 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Bethelhem Legesse Debela, Esther Gehrke, Matin Qaim Links between Maternal Employment and Child Nutrition in Rural Tanzania, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 103, no.33 (Jun 2020): 812–830.https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12113Helen Harris-Fry, Hayaan Nur, Bhavani Shankar, Giacomo Zanello, Chittur Srinivasan, Suneetha Kadiyala The impact of gender equity in agriculture on nutritional status, diets, and household food security: a mixed-methods systematic review, BMJ Global Health 5, no.33 (Mar 2020): e002173.https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-002173Ashwini Deshpande, Alain Desrochers, Christopher Ksoll, Abu S. Shonchoy The Impact of a Computer-based Adult Literacy Program on Literacy and Numeracy: Evidence from India, World Development 96 (Aug 2017): 451–473.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.03.029Anjana Thampi The Impact of the Public Distribution System in India, Indian Journal of Human Development 10, no.33 (May 2017): 353–365.https://doi.org/10.1177/0973703016685792Rita Fosu-Brefo, Eric Arthur Effect of timely initiation of breastfeeding on child health in Ghana, Health Economics Review 5, no.11 (Mar 2015).https://doi.org/10.1186/s13561-015-0044-8Abhijeet Singh / Albert Park / Stefan Dercon School Meals as a Safety Net: An Evaluation of the Midday Meal Scheme in India, Economic Development and Cultural Change 62, no.22 (Jul 2015): 275–306.https://doi.org/10.1086/674097Amanda J Felkey Husbands, Wives and the Peculiar Economics of Household Public Goods, The European Journal of Development Research 25, no.33 (Feb 2013): 445–465.https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2012.56Christophe Muller Do agricultural outputs of partly autarkic peasants affect their health and nutrition? Evidence from Rwanda, Food Policy 34, no.22 (Apr 2009): 166–175.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2008.10.010Uzma Iram, Muhammad S. Butt Understanding the health and nutritional status of children in Pakistan, International Journal of Social Economics 33, no.22 (Feb 2006): 111–131.https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290610642210Andrea Carlson, Ben Senauer The Impact of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children on Child Health, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85, no.22 (May 2003): 479–491.https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8276.00135Yves Martin-Prével, Pierre Traissac, Francis Delpeuch, Bernard Maire Decreased attendance at routine health activities mediates deterioration in nutritional status of young African children under worsening socioeconomic conditions, International Journal of Epidemiology 30, no.33 (Jun 2001): 493–500.https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/30.3.493James Blaylock, David Smallwood, Kathleen Kassel, Jay Variyam, Lorna Aldrich Economics, food choices, and nutrition, Food Policy 24, no.2-32-3 (May 1999): 269–286.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-9192(99)00029-9John Komlos Shrinking in a Growing Economy? The Mystery of Physical Stature during the Industrial Revolution, The Journal of Economic History 58, no.33 (Mar 2009): 779–802.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050700021161Glynis Gawn, Robert Innes, Gordon Rausser, David Zilberman Nutrient demand and the allocation of time: evidence from Guam, Applied Economics 25, no.66 (Jul 2006): 811–830.https://doi.org/10.1080/00036849300000136

Household Economies of Scale in Consumption: Theory and Evidence

Household economies of scale (arising from the existence of househo ld public goods, increasing returns in household production, and/or bulk discounts) are incorporated into a utility-theoretic model of household demands. Individuals are assumed to be identical and symmetrically treated within households. Economies of scale parameters for five goods are estimated using the quadratic expenditu re system and data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey on expenditures by all-adult households. Results suggest the existence o f significant economies of scale in the consumption of all of the included goods, with economies being especially pronounced in the consumption of shelter. Copyright 1988 by The Econometric Society.

Marriage Markets and Assortative Mating with Household Public Goods: Theoretical Results and Empirical Implications

This paper analyzes marriage market equilibria when the gains from marriage result from joint consumption of household public goods. Assuming transferable utility within marriage, the paper proves that marriage markets will be characterized by positive assortative mating on wealth when spouses differ only in endowments and the gains to marriage result only from public goods. When spouses differ in wages and household public goods are produced at home, the results imply offsetting effects, with public good economies creating an incentive for positive assortative mating on wages and gains from specialization creating an incentive for negative assortative mating on wages. The results help explain the persistent lack of empirical support for Becker's prediction of negative assortative mating on wages, and have implications for empirical analysis of all joint living arrangement decisions.