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The Measurement of Child Costs: A Rothbarth-Type Method Consistent with Scale Economies and Parents’ Bargaining

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  • BARGAIN Olivier
  • DONNI Olivier

Abstract

We propose a new methodology to estimate the share of household income accruing to children, i.e., the cost of children. The household behavior is represented according to the collective approach. That is, each household member is characterized by speci.c preferences. Following the principle of the Rothbarth approach, the identi.cation of the children.s share requires the observation of adult-speci.c goods. Our method di¤ers from this traditional approach in that it is compatible with economies of scale as well as with parents. bargaining. In addition, it allows de.ning a new concept of child costs that takes into account economies of scale. We illustrate the method with an application on the French Household Budget Survey.

Suggested Citation

  • BARGAIN Olivier & DONNI Olivier, 2010. "The Measurement of Child Costs: A Rothbarth-Type Method Consistent with Scale Economies and Parents’ Bargaining," LISER Working Paper Series 2010-30, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    • Handle: RePEc:irs:cepswp:2010-30
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    Cited by:

    1. Laurens Cherchye & Bram De Rock & Arthur Lewbel & Frederic Vermeulen, 2015. "Sharing Rule Identification for General Collective Consumption Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83(5), pages 2001-2041, September.
    2. Olivier Bargain & Laurine Martinoty, 2019. "Crisis at home: mancession-induced change in intrahousehold distribution," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 277-308, January.
    3. Laurens Cherchye & Bram De Rock & Arthur Lewbel & Frederic Vermeulen, 2015. "Sharing Rule Identification for General Collective Consumption Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83(5), pages 2001-2041, September.
    4. HORI Masahiro, 2011. "The expenditure on children in Japan," ESRI Discussion paper series 279, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    5. Hélène Couprie & Gaëlle Ferrant, 2015. "Welfare Comparisons, Economies of Scale and Equivalence Scale in Time Use," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 117-118, pages 185-210.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer Demand; Collective Model; Rothbarth Method; Cost of Children; Scale Economies; Equivalence Scales; Indifference Scales;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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