You are here: Home / Publications / Who Benefits More from Higher Household Consumption? The Intra-Household Allocation of Nutrients in China

Who Benefits More from Higher Household Consumption? The Intra-Household Allocation of Nutrients in China

Mangyo, Eiji. (2008). Who Benefits More from Higher Household Consumption? The Intra-Household Allocation of Nutrients in China. Journal of Development Economics, 86(2), 296-312.

Mangyo, Eiji. (2008). Who Benefits More from Higher Household Consumption? The Intra-Household Allocation of Nutrients in China. Journal of Development Economics, 86(2), 296-312.

Octet Stream icon 507.ris — Octet Stream, 1 kB (1,233 bytes)

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. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.




JOUR



Mangyo, Eiji



2008


Journal of Development Economics

86

2

296-312






0304-3878

10.1016/j.jdeveco.2007.03.002



507