IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/arx/papers/2605.04771.html

It's complicated: A Non-parametric Test of Preference Stability between Singles and Couples

Author

Listed:
  • Stefan Hubner

Abstract

This paper develops a method to use singles' data in a non-parametric revealed preference setting of collective household choice. We use it to test the controversial assumption of preference stability between singles and couples, without data on intra-household allocation or marital transitions. We show that, under the preference-stability hypothesis, consumption choices from an endogenously matched population admit a conditional random-utility representation over counterfactual pairings of couples and singles. Preference stability is testable as a feasibility restriction on the observed marginal choice distributions. We reject the hypothesis using consumption data from the Dutch LISS, the Russian RLMS, and the Spanish ECPF panels.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Hubner, 2026. "It's complicated: A Non-parametric Test of Preference Stability between Singles and Couples," Papers 2605.04771, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2605.04771
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.04771
    File Function: Latest version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2605.04771. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: arXiv administrators (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arxiv.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.