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Alimony Rights and Intrahousehold Allocation of Resources: Evidence from Brazil

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Author Info
Marcos Rangel
Abstract

Household economic theory has largely relied on the concept of a "unitary" family decision-making model, in which the household can be considered the appropriate unit of decision-making. Exploiting an exogenous extension of alimony rights to cohabiting couples in Brazil, this paper presents robust empirical evidence challenging this assumption. Alimony rights improve women’s outside options, strengthen their negotiating positions, and increase their influence over the allocation of resources within intact partnerships. Econometric results corroborate this reasoning and indicate that more decision power in the hands of women affects both the hours worked by female adults and the pattern of investments in the human capital of children. These findings suggest that models of the family should take intrahousehold heterogeneity in preferences into account.

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Paper provided by Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago in its series Working Papers with number 0505.

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Date of creation: Jan 2005
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Handle: RePEc:har:wpaper:0505

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Keywords: Brazil; resource allocation; alimony; women;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1993. "Separate Spheres Bargaining and the Marriage Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(6), pages 988-1010, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Eric Edmonds & Kristin Mammen & Douglas L. Miller, 2004. "Rearranging the Family? Income Support and Elderly Living Arrangements in a Low Income Country," NBER Working Papers 10306, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Haddad, Lawrence & Hoddinott, John & Alderman, Harold & DEC, 1994. "Intrahousehold resource allocation : an overview," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1255, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  4. Schultz, T.P., 1990. "Testing The Neoclassical Model Of Family Labor Supply And Fertility," Papers 601, Yale - Economic Growth Center.
  5. Anne Case & I-Fen Lin & Sara McLanahan, 1999. "Household Resource Allocation in Stepfamilies: Darwin Reflects on the Plight of Cinderella," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 234-238, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Schultz, T Paul, 1982. "Market Opportunities, Genetic Endowments, and Intrafamily Resource Distribution: Child Survival in Rural India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(4), pages 803-15, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Rubalcava, L. & Thomas, D., 2000. "Family Bargaining and Welfare," Papers 00-10, RAND - Labor and Population Program.
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  8. Butcher, Kristin F & Case, Anne, 1994. "The Effect of Sibling Sex Composition on Women's Education and Earnings," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 109(3), pages 531-63, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Kessler, Daniel, 1991. "Birth Order, Family Size, and Achievement: Family Structure and Wage Determination," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(4), pages 413-26, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Martin Browning & P.A. Chiappori, 1996. "Efficient Intra-Household Allocations - A General Characterization and Empirical Tests," Discussion Papers 96-10, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
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  11. Pierre-André Chiappori & Bernard Fortin & Guy Lacroix, 2001. "Marriage Market, Divorce Legislation and Household Labor Supply," CIRANO Working Papers 2001s-16, CIRANO. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Rao, V. & Green, M.E., 1996. "Bargaining and fertility in Brazil: A Quantitative and Econometric Analysis," Center for Development Economics 153, Department of Economics, Williams College.
  13. Behrman, Jere R & Pollak, Robert A & Taubman, Paul, 1986. "Do Parents Favor Boys?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 27(1), pages 33-54, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. John Ermisch & Marco Francesconi, 2000. "Cohabitation in Great Britain: not for long, but here to stay," Journal Of The Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 163(2), pages 153-171. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Ashraf, Nava & Karlan, Dean S. & Yin, Wesley, 2007. "Female Empowerment: Impact of a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," CEPR Discussion Papers 6195, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Marcos A. Rangel & Duncan Thomas, 2006. "Out of West Africa: Evidence on the Efficient Allocation of Resources within Farm Households," Working Papers 0515, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  3. Nava Ashraf & Dean Karlan & Wesley Yin, 2006. "Household Decision Making and Savings Impacts: Further Evidence from a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," Working Papers 939, Economic Growth Center, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
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