Intrahousehold Decision Making and Fertility

This chapter analyzes the implications of modeling fertility choices as outcomes of intrahousehold conflict and bargaining. It argues for a reformulation of fertility theories that are embedded in more realistic theories of household formation and joint decision making within the household. Empirical evidence suggests that disagreement regarding fertility choices is commonplace. In addition to a level difference in the desired fertility of women and men, there is evidence of considerable heterogeneity across households. The data on fertility preferences suggests at least the possibility that within-household disagreement on fertility is an important determinant of fertility outcomes. The chapter also shows how the vast majority of economic models of fertility have been based on a unitary model of the household, where the household is conceived as a single entity with a single utility function.

Mothers Care More, But Fathers Decide: Educating Parents about Child Health in Uganda

Research on intrahousehold decision-making generally finds that fathers have more bargaining power than mothers, but mothers put more weight on children's well-being. This suggests a tradeoff when targeting policies to improve child health: fathers have more power to change household behavior in ways that improve child health, but mothers might have a stronger desire to do so. This paper compares health classes in Uganda that enrolled either mothers or fathers. We find that educating mothers leads to greater adoption of health-promoting behaviors by the household. In addition, educating one parent leads to positive spillovers on the other spouse's health behaviors.