Detecting mother-father differences in spending on children: A new approach using willingness-to-pay elicitation
- The American Economic Review: Insights
- 5(4), Dec, 2023: p.445-459
This study investigates whether mothers and fathers in Uganda show different spending behaviors for daughters compared to sons. Specifically, it compares their willingness to pay (WTP) for certain goods for their children. The findings indicate that fathers are less willing to invest in their daughters' human capital compared to their sons, while mothers do not show this difference. Additionally, fathers' WTP for items that bring joy to their daughters is lower than for sons, whereas mothers' WTP remains consistent for both genders. Altruism appears to play a role in these spending patterns. This paper tests whether mothers and fathers differ in their spending on daughters relative to sons by comparing their willingness to pay (WTP) for specific goods for their children. This method, which we apply in Uganda, offers more precision than the standard method of examining expenditure effects of mothers' versus fathers' income. We find that fathers have a lower WTP for their daughters' than their sons' human capital but mothers do not. Altruism plays a role: fathers' but not mothers' WTP for goods that simply bring joy to their daughters is lower than their WTP for such goods for sons.- Reproduced
Willingness to Pay (WTP) Parental Spending Patterns Human Capital Altruism Gender Differences in Spending Mothers vs. Fathers Uganda Children's Goods Expenditure Effects Joy-bringing Goods