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Children's Resources in Collective Households: Identification, Estimation and an Application to Child Poverty in Malawi

Author

Listed:
  • Geoffrey Dunbar

    (Simon Fraser University)

  • Arthur Lewbel

    (Boston College)

  • Krishna Pendakur

    (Simon Fraser University)

Abstract

The share of household resources devoted to children is hard to identify, because consumption is measured at the household level, and goods can be shared. Using semiparametric restrictions on individual preferences within a collective model, we identify how total household resources are divided up among household members, by observing how each family member's expenditures on a single private good like clothing varies with income and family size. Using data from Malawi we show how resources devoted to wives and children vary by family size and structure, and we find that standard poverty indices understate the incidence of child poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Geoffrey Dunbar & Arthur Lewbel & Krishna Pendakur, 2010. "Children's Resources in Collective Households: Identification, Estimation and an Application to Child Poverty in Malawi," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 758, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 31 Jan 2012.
    • Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:758
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anyck Dauphin & Abdel‐Rahmen El Lahga & Bernard Fortin & Guy Lacroix, 2011. "Are Children Decision‐Makers within the Household?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(553), pages 871-903, June.
    2. Deaton, Angus S, 1989. "Looking for Boy-Girl Discrimination in Household Expenditure Data," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 3(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Elaina Rose, 1999. "Consumption Smoothing and Excess Female Mortality in Rural India," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(1), pages 41-49, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Collective Model; Cost of Children; Bargaining Power; Identification; Sharing rule; Demand Systems; Engel Curves;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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