Who benefits more from higher household consumption? The intra-household allocation of nutrients in China

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Development Economics
Year: 2008
Volume: 86
Issue: 2
Pages: 296-312

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Previous studies find that human capital investments in boys are less income elastic than investments in girls, attributing this result to favoritism toward boys. I show theoretically that it is plausible for more productive or favored household members to have higher income elasticities. I then investigate this question empirically, utilizing panel data on individual nutrient intake from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) to analyze how changes in household per-capita nutrient intake affect the intra-household allocation of nutrients. To deal with potential biases due to omitted variables and simultaneity, I use measures of rainfall variation as instruments. I find that nutritional intakes are more elastic for males (especially prime-age men) than for females, and significantly less elastic for the elderly.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:deveco:v:86:y:2008:i:2:p:296-312
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25