Are Children Decision-Makers within the Household?

This article seeks to determine whether children aged 16 and over and who are living with their parents influence the household decision-making process. Assuming collective rationality within the household, we show how a minimal number of decision-makers can be inferred from the parametric constrain...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Economic journal (London) 2011-06, Vol.121 (553), p.871-903
Main Authors: Dauphin, Anyck, El Lahga, Abdel-Rahmen, Fortin, Bernard, Lacroix, Guy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Bargaining power
Child labor
Children
Children & youth
Consumer preferences
Daughters
Decision making
Economic models
Families & family life
Family relations
Family studies
Household consumption
Household expenditure
Households
Intragroup relations
Null hypothesis
Parents
Sons
Studies
Total expenditures
United Kingdom
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Summary:This article seeks to determine whether children aged 16 and over and who are living with their parents influence the household decision-making process. Assuming collective rationality within the household, we show how a minimal number of decision-makers can be inferred from the parametric constraints of the collective model. Using UK Family Expenditure Surveys, we find the data to be consistent with the children being decision-makers. When stratifying the sample by age and by gender, our results indicate that both children aged between 16 and 21 and daughters, irrespective of their age, are decision-makers. Results for sons and children age 22 and over are less conclusive. Finally, the collective model is never rejected.
ISSN:0013-0133
1468-0297
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02404.x