We study the validity of experimental methods designed to measure preferences for intra-household resource control among spouses in Ghana and Uganda. We implement two incentivized tasks; (1) a game that measures willingness to pay to control resources, and (2) private and joint dictator games that measure preferences for resource allocation and the extent to which those preferences are reflected in joint decisions. Behavior in the two tasks is correlated, suggesting that they describe similar underlying latent variables. In Uganda the experimental measures are robustly correlated with a range of household survey measures of resource control and women’s empowerment and suggest that simple private dictator games may be as informative as more sophisticated tasks. In Ghana, the experimental measures are not predictive of survey indicators, suggesting that context may be an important element of whether experimental measures are informative.
This dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter empirically explores the relationships between intra-household time allocation choices and gender role bias, and the second chapter provides a structural model that rationalizes the empirical findings to study its policy implications. The third chapter explores the relationship between intra-household consumption distributions and subjective wellbeing of each gender. In the first two chapters, I study how gender role bias affects the time allocations of heterosexual working couples in labor, home production, and leisure, and the ramifications for distributional effects of policies that change effective wages. Using detailed time use data from Mexico and the U.K., I document that among working couples in both countries, as a female's relative wage increases, her relative labor hours decrease, and her relative home production hours increase. The pattern is seemingly puzzling but it can be rationalized if couples face disutility for breaking a social norm as females' share of household earnings increases. I then build a structural household model that incorporates gender role bias. Fitting the model to the U.K. data on working couples, I find that on average, disutility arising from gender role bias starts increasing when a female's earning share exceeds 0.45, that is, when she is nearly the breadwinner. Furthermore, I construct a measure of household-level bias using responses to survey questions on bias, and find that in more biased households, the disutility starts increasing when the female's earning share is lower. Using the model, I predict the effects of a fiscal policy that disproportionately increases females' effective wages. In particular, I find that when a given policy increases females' wages by 10 percent, the policy's effect on female labor supply is overestimated by 5 percentage points if gender role bias is not taken into account. In the third chapter, I study how intra-household inequality affects individuals' wellbeing where each member has the bargaining power to secure more household resources to be allocated for his/her interest. Unlike the existing literature that focuses on `absolute' resource levels, I explore another channel through which unequal intra-household resource distribution can affect an individual's wellbeing: by affecting `relative' resource as compared to the other household member. From detailed Mexican household-level survey data, I estimate an individual's resource level through a structural household model and explore its relationship with happiness, using self-reported subjective wellbeing as a proxy for happiness. I find that there is a negative correlation between relative resource levels and happiness for adult females. The negative correlation is consistent with studies that find domestic violence rates are higher for empowered females, or working females, who also consume more than those less empowered. However, the relation is insignificant for adult males.
This book provides a comprehensive, modern, and self-contained account of the research in the growing area of family economics. It is intended for graduate students in economics and for researchers in other fields interested in the economic approach to the family.
This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.
Non-market valuation is becoming increasingly accepted as an evaluative tool of economics related to environmental and resource protection. Freeman (economics, Bowdoin College) presents an overview of the literature, introducing the principal methods and techniques of resource valuation. Chapters cover the measurement of welfare changes, revealed and stated preference models, nonuse models, aggregation of values across time, environmental quality as factor input, longevity and health valuation, property value models, hedonic wage models, and recreational uses of natural resource systems. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
A new edition of this practical guide for clinicians who are developing tools to measure subjective states, attitudes, or non-tangible outcomes in their patients, suitable for those who have no knowledge of statistics.
In the Fourth Edition of Scale Development, Robert F. DeVellis demystifies measurement by emphasizing a logical rather than strictly mathematical understanding of concepts. The text supports readers in comprehending newer approaches to measurement, comparing them to classical approaches, and grasping more clearly the relative merits of each. This edition addresses new topics pertinent to modern measurement approaches and includes additional exercises and topics for class discussion. Available with Perusall—an eBook that makes it easier to prepare for class Perusall is an award-winning eBook platform featuring social annotation tools that allow students and instructors to collaboratively mark up and discuss their SAGE textbook. Backed by research and supported by technological innovations developed at Harvard University, this process of learning through collaborative annotation keeps your students engaged and makes teaching easier and more effective. Learn more.
