Is Ignorance Bliss? The Effect of Asymmetric Information between Spouses on Intra-household Allocations

• Tác giả: Carolina Castilla
• Ngôn ngữ: eng
• Ký hiệu phân loại: 001 Knowledge
• Thông tin xuất bản: American Economic Association, 2014
• Bộ sưu tập: Tài liệu truy cập mở
• ID: 292178
• Chủ đề: 1. asymmetric and private information; 2. economic development; 3. household production; 4. intrahousehold allocation; 5. microeconomic analyses

Tóm tắt

We conducted a field experiment in Southern Ghana to test the effect of asymmetric information on intrahousehold allocation. A lottery was conducted, where prizes were distributed in public and in private. The results indicate that asymmetric information over windfalls has a differential effect on observable and concealable expenses, consistent with hiding. Husbands' public windfalls increase investment in assets and social capital, while there is no such effect when wives win. Private windfalls of both spouses are committed to cash (wives) or in-kind gifts (husband) which are either difficult to monitor or to reverse if discovered by the other spouse.