Arguing that resources within the household are not allocated according to need, several researchers have tried to model intra-household allocative behavior. One group (1990) argued that as households become better off, intra-household inequality first increases then decreases. The behavior of intra-household inequality as household welfare improves is clearly important for policy, as interventions are often restricted to the household level - although the objective is to improve the welfare of the least-well-off individual. The author shows here that many of the tractable derivations of intra-household resource allocation are available in what might be called the "linear expenditure systems" framework. He analyzes the relationship between intra-household inequality and total household resources for models of intra-household allocation that lead to a linear expenditure reduced form. He then investigates three structural models : household welfare maximization; cooperative bargaining; and a noncooperative game with children as public goods. The author indicates how these models should be modified to produce reduced forms that are better represented in the evidence.
Details
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Author
Kanbur, Ravi
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Document Date
1991/05/31
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Document Type
Policy Research Working Paper
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Report Number
WPS685
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Volume No
1
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Total Volume(s)
1
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Disclosure Date
2010/07/01
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Doc Name
Children and intra-household inequality : a theoretical analysis
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Keywords
household resource;linear expenditure system;consumption;utility function;public good;Public Goods;inequality will increase;high real interest rate;bargaining model;pattern of behavior;health and nutrition;minimum consumption level;welfare of children;foreign direct investment;international accounting standard;efficiency of investment;corner solution;welfare function;inequality decrease;household welfare;intrahousehold inequality;demand system;
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Citation
Kanbur, Ravi
Children and intra-household inequality : a theoretical analysis (English). Policy, Research, and External Affairs working papers ; no. WPS 685. Development economics Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/258601468764980225/Children-and-intra-household-inequality-a-theoretical-analysis