Household Allocations and Endogenous Information

Joost de Laat

Cahiers de recherche from CIRPEE

Abstract: This paper tests for the endogeneity of one of the main elements separating different models of intrahousehold allocations, namely the household information set. Based on unusually rich data, I find that split migrant couples in the Nairobi slums invest considerable resources into information acquisition through visits, sibling and child monitoring, budget submissions, and marital search. I also find potentially substantial welfare losses when information acquisition becomes costly, not only through reduced remittances but more importantly as families opt for family migration into the slums. That households invest in information when there are welfare gains complements a large and growing literature that seeks to explain intrahousehold allocations through more complex modes of decision-making.

Keywords: Survey Methods; Household production and Intrahousehold Allocation; Marriage; Family Structure; Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F12 F15 F17 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lvl:lacicr:0827

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