Intrahousehold Decision Making and Fertility Choices in Rural Senegal and Uganda

Feminist economic approaches have transformed mainstream economic analysis to better account for intrahousehold decision making. To quantify decision making, studies resort to self-reported survey-based measures, derived from questions directed to household members, or proxy-variable methods. This study uses a choice experiment, a stated preference method, implemented in rural Senegal and Uganda and specifically distinguishes between individual and household choices to analyze spouses’ preferences on fertility and child raising and calculate a decision-making coefficient. Findings show individual fertility preferences of men and women cannot substitute for household-level choices, and intrahousehold decision making concerning fertility and child raising is region specific. While in Uganda household fertility choices reflect a balance between the spouses’ fertility preferences, in Senegal these choices seem more dominated by the husband’s preference. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the adequate decision-making unit when designing family planning and child-centered programs and of using a region-specific approach.HIGHLIGHTSAnalyzing spousal fertility and child-raising choices provides an alternative to traditional proxies for intrahousehold decision making.Choice experimental data and methods enables the calculation of a decision-making coefficient.Individual fertility preferences cannot substitute for household-level choices.Considering the adequate gender and decision-making unit is crucial in designing family planning programs.