Extended families and child well-being

Daniel LaFave and Duncan Thomas

Journal of Development Economics, 2017, vol. 126, issue C, 52-65

Abstract: Whereas the extended family plays a central role in many models of economic behavior, particularly in developing countries, there is a paucity of empirical evidence on the extent and nature of resource sharing among non coresident family members. This is in sharp contrast with abundant evidence that the distribution of resources within households predicts household spending and savings patterns. To fill this gap, the collective model of household decision-making is extended to the family. The model is particularly appealing in this context because it places few restrictions on preferences of individual family members who may or may not be coresident and does not specify a specific bargaining mechanism that underlies negotiations. The model yields empirical tests of whether the behavior of family members is (Pareto) efficient.

Keywords: Extended families; Pareto efficiency; Collective rationality; Child development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Extended Families and Child Well-being (2014)
Working Paper: Extended Families and Child Well-being (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:126:y:2017:i:c:p:52-65

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2016.11.006

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