To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making

We conduct an original lab-in-the-field experiment on the decision–making process of married couples over the allocation of rival and non-rival household goods. The experiment measures individual preferences over allocations and traces the process of deferral, consultation, communication and accommo...

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Autores principales: Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab, Fafchamps, Marcel, Goldstein, Markus, Leonard, Kenneth L., Papineni, Sreelakshmi
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152230
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author Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Fafchamps, Marcel
Goldstein, Markus
Leonard, Kenneth L.
Papineni, Sreelakshmi
author_browse Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Fafchamps, Marcel
Goldstein, Markus
Leonard, Kenneth L.
Papineni, Sreelakshmi
author_facet Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Fafchamps, Marcel
Goldstein, Markus
Leonard, Kenneth L.
Papineni, Sreelakshmi
author_sort Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description We conduct an original lab-in-the-field experiment on the decision–making process of married couples over the allocation of rival and non-rival household goods. The experiment measures individual preferences over allocations and traces the process of deferral, consultation, communication and accommodation by which couples implement these preferences. We find few differences in individual preferences over allocations of goods. However, wives and husbands have strong preferences over process: women prefer to defer decisions to their husbands even when deferral is costly and is not observed by the husband; men rarely defer under any condition. Our study follows a randomized controlled trial that ended a year earlier and gave large cash transfers over eighteen months to half of the women in the study. We estimate the effect of treatment on the demand for agency among women and find that the receipt of cash transfers does not change women’s bargaining process except in a secret condition when the decision to defer is shrouded from her husband. This suggests that the cash transfer to women increases their demand for agency but does not change the intra-household balance of power enough to allow them to express it publicly.
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publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
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spelling CGSpace1522302025-12-08T10:06:44Z To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab Fafchamps, Marcel Goldstein, Markus Leonard, Kenneth L. Papineni, Sreelakshmi bargaining power cash transfers decision making intrahousehold relations We conduct an original lab-in-the-field experiment on the decision–making process of married couples over the allocation of rival and non-rival household goods. The experiment measures individual preferences over allocations and traces the process of deferral, consultation, communication and accommodation by which couples implement these preferences. We find few differences in individual preferences over allocations of goods. However, wives and husbands have strong preferences over process: women prefer to defer decisions to their husbands even when deferral is costly and is not observed by the husband; men rarely defer under any condition. Our study follows a randomized controlled trial that ended a year earlier and gave large cash transfers over eighteen months to half of the women in the study. We estimate the effect of treatment on the demand for agency among women and find that the receipt of cash transfers does not change women’s bargaining process except in a secret condition when the decision to defer is shrouded from her husband. This suggests that the cash transfer to women increases their demand for agency but does not change the intra-household balance of power enough to allow them to express it publicly. 2024-09-13 2024-09-13T20:26:25Z 2024-09-13T20:26:25Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152230 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132862 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143574 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/126900 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146008 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/137823 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Fafchamps, Marcel; Goldstein, Markus; Leonard, Kenneth L.; and Papineni, Sreelakshmi. 2024. To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2271. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152230
spellingShingle bargaining power
cash transfers
decision making
intrahousehold relations
Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab
Fafchamps, Marcel
Goldstein, Markus
Leonard, Kenneth L.
Papineni, Sreelakshmi
To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making
title To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making
title_full To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making
title_fullStr To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making
title_full_unstemmed To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making
title_short To defer or differ: Experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on Nigerian couples’ decision-making
title_sort to defer or differ experimental evidence on the role of cash transfers on nigerian couples decision making
topic bargaining power
cash transfers
decision making
intrahousehold relations
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152230
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